^T**  T  1£* 

lilL 

SOCiKL   TEACHINGS 

OF1  THE 

JEWISH  PROPHETS 


WILLIAM    BENNETT    BIZZELL 


Rabbi  Isadore  Isaacson 


VII. 


THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 
OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS 

A  Study  in 
Biblical  Sociology 


WILLIAM  BENNETT  BIZZELL 

President  Agricultural  and  Mechanical 

College  of  Texas 

Author  of  ''Judicial  Interpretation  of 
Political  Theory" 


BOSTON 

SHERMAN,  FRENCH  &  COMPANY 
1916 


HI  MEMORIAM 


COPYRIGHT,  1916 
SHERMAN,  FRENCH  &»  COMPANY 


TO 

MY  MOTHER 


943985 


PREFACE 

We  are  in  the  midst  of  a  renaissance  in  the  study 
of  the  Old  Testament  scriptures.  The  evidence  of 
this  fact  is  to  be  found  in  the  large  number  of  vol- 
umes that  are  now  appearing  from  the  press,  deal- 
ing with  many  phases  of  Jewish  literature.  This 
awakening  is  largely  the  result  of  recent  efforts  to 
relate  the  ethical,  legislative  and  social  teachings  of, 
Israel  to  the  problems  and  conditions  of  the  pres- 
ent day.  The  content  of  the  prophetic  literature  is 
rich  in  suggestiveness  and  social  teaching  for  an  age 
like  our  own.  The  realization  of  this  fact  makes  it 
desirable  to  search  out  and  evaluate  this  social  con- 
tent. This  point  of  view  has  given  a  new  sig- 
nificance to  the  work  of  the  Jewish  prophet,  and 
stimulated  a  new  interest  in  his  message  to  the  world. 

This  volume  is  the  outgrowth  of  studies  begun 
in  the  University  of  Chicago  several  years  ago,  and 
since  made  use  of  in  a  series  of  lectures  delivered  to 
college  students  and  instructors.  The  approach  to 
the  study  of  prophetic  literature  from  the  social 
point  of  view  has  aroused  a  genuine  interest,  but  the 
fact  that  I  could  find  no  book  that  exactly  met  the 
requirements  made  the  instruction  somewhat  difficult. 
It  happens  that  a  volume  or  two  has  recently  ap- 
peared which  partially  supplies  this  need. 

It  will  be  obvious  to  the  Bible  student  that  the 
study  has  its  limitations.  No  attempt  has  been 


PREFACE 

made  to  present  a  comprehensive  analysis  of  the 
prophetic  books.  There  are  many  familiar  passages 
and  many  important  religious  views  that  lie  outside 
the  province  of  this  study.  The  Messianic  and  re- 
ligious elements  have  either  been  kept  in  the  back- 
ground or  ignored  all  together.  Not  that  the  au- 
thor thinks  these  unimportant,  or  less  important, 
but  because  they  have  repeatedly  been  the  subject 
of  discussion  by  Bible  scholars,  and  at  the  present 
time  there  are  many  volumes  in  English  that  treat 
them  scholarly  and  adequately. 

The  plan  of  study  assumes  the  necessity  of  an 
understanding  of  the  political  and  social  situation 
as  a  basis  for  an  adequate  appreciation  of  the  social 
teachings  of  the  prophets.  As  a  rule  no  attempt 
has  been  made  to  separate  the  political  from  the  so- 
cial in  the  background  of  the  prophet's  message. 
This  would  appear  to  be  desirable,  but  under  condi- 
tions of  Jewish  life  it  would  seem  to  be  hardly 
necessary  or  possible.  However,  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  understand  the  meaning  of  the  social 
program  of  a  Jewish  prophet  without  taking  into 
account  the  conditions  that  produced  it.  It  is  be- 
lieved, also,  that  every  man  is  influenced  in  his  think- 
ing and  public  activities  by  heredity  and  environ- 
ment. This  makes  it  highly  desirable  to  know  as 
much  as  possible  about  the  life  of  each  of  the 
prophets.  An  attempt  has  been  made  to  reconstruct 
the  historical  background,  and  to  present  all  the 
salient  facts  that  appear  in  the  life  of  each  prophet. 
With  these  facts  before  us,  it  is  much  easier  to  get 
the  proper  social  perspective  for  an  understanding 
of  the  prophet's  real  meaning. 


PREFACE 

This  study  also  frankly  assumes  that  the  social 
message  of  the  Jewish  prophet  was  intended  for  his 
own  times.  Each  had  in  mind  a  real  and  present 
situation.  This  fact  limits  the  application  of  the 
prophet's  social  message  in  two  ways.  In  the  first 
place,  the  social  program  of  the  prophets  does  not 
include  the  social  problems  that  have  grown  out  of 
new  conditions  that  did  not  exist  in  their  time.  In 
the  second  place,  there  were,  in  the  days  of  the 
prophets,  acute  social  problems  to  which  they  di- 
rected their  attention  and  which  have  either  found 
solution,  or  changing  conditions  have  made  unim- 
portant. On  the  other  hand,  there  were  incipient 
social  situations,  like  slavery,  which  were  later  to 
grow  into  serious  problems  that  baffled  the  reform- 
ers of  many  generations,  but  which  received  scanty 
attention  at  the  hands  of  the  prophets. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the  author  does 
not  claim  great  originality  for  the  views  expressed 
in  this  book.  The  footnotes  and  list  of  readings  at 
the  end  of  each  chapter  will  reveal  the  fact  that 
many  volumes  have  been  referred  to  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  book.  However,  the  diversity  of  opin- 
ions of  Bible  scholars  and  the  fragmentary  nature 
of  the  social  material  has  made  it  necessary  to 
choose  between  conflicting  views,  and  to  collect  the 
social  data  largely  by  independent  effort.  An  at- 
tempt has  been  made  to  preempt  the  prophetic  litera- 
ture of  its  social  content,  and  let  it  convey  its  own 
message.  The  author  hopes  that  in  the  task  he  has 
not  made  omissions  of  important  data. 

The  book  is  offered  as  a  guide  to  individual  stu- 
dents and  Bible  classes  who  may  be  interested  in  the 


PREFACE 

social  approach  to  prophetic  literature.  With  this 
purpose  in  view,  a  few  topics  for  reports  and  investi- 
gations and  a  carefully  selected  list  of  books  are 
added  at  the  end  of  each  chapter.  These  may  serve 
the  purpose  of  either  intensifying  or  broadening  the 
scope  of  study. 

Finally,  I  wish  to  express  my  appreciation  to  Dr. 
C.  P.  Fountain,  Professor  of  English,  and  Mr. 
Charles  E.  Friley,  Registrar,  both  of  the  Agricul- 
tural and  Mechanical  College  of  Texas,  for  assist- 
ance in  reading  the  proof  and  preparing  the  index. 
It  is  a  pleasure  to  acknowledge  the  assistance  ren- 
dered by  these  gentlemen. 

W.  B.  B. 

College  Station,  Texas. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 


INTRODUCTION 


DIVISION  I 

THE  ESTABLISHMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT 
OF  THE  PROPHETIC  OFFICE 

CHAPTER 

I  THE  BEGINNING  OF  JEWISH  PROPHECY     .      13 

II  THE  PROPHET  AS  NATION-BUILDER  .  .21 

III  SUCCESSORS  TO  THE  PROPHET  SAMUEL  .      .      32 

IV  THE  ASCENDENCY  OF  PROPHECY     ...     45 

DIVISION  II 

THE  WRITING  PROPHETS  BEFORE  THE 

EXILE 
V     AMOS  OF  TEKOA        .......     60 

VI     HOSEA  BEN  BEERI     .      .      ...      .      .     74 

VII     ISAIAH  OF  JERUSALEM     ......      84 

VIII     THE  POLITICAL  REFORMS  AND  POLICIES  OF 

ISAIAH        .........      94 

IX       MlC  AH    THE    MORASTHITE        .         .        .         .         .105 

X  PERIOD  OF  REACTION  AGAINST  PROPHECY  .    113 

XI  ZEPHANIAH  OF  JERUSALEM  .      .      .      .      .118 

XII  NAHUM  THE   ELKOSHITE      .....    125 

XIII  HABAKKUK    .........    131 

XIV  JEREMIAH   OF  ANATHOTH    .      .      .      .      .138 
XV  POLITICAL  POLICIES  OF  JEREMIAH  .            .153 


CONTENTS 

DIVISION  III 
THE  PROPHETS  OF  THE  EXILE 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XVI        EZEKIEfc 162 

XVII     OBADIAH: 171 

XVIII     "SECOND  ISAIAH" 177 

DIVISION  IV 
PROPHETS  OF  THE  RESTORATION 

XIX     HAGGAI 187 

XX     ZECHARIAH 194 

XXI     MALACHJC 202 

XXII     NEHEMIAH'S  SOCIAL  REFORMS  ....   210 

DIVISION  V 

THE  PROPHETS  OF  THE  LEGALISTIC 

PERIOD 

XXIII  JOEL 219 

XXIV  JONAH 226 

INDEX  .    235 


THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 
OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS 


INTRODUCTION 

We  have  come  to  understand,  mqrd  dearly  than 
ever  before,  that  the  interests  of  the  individual  are 
best  promoted  through  his  relationship^,  jlftis1  ,£(*-'_ 
cial  doctrine  is  not  new  in  the  world'.  'The 'Creator 
proclaimed  it  when  he  said,  "  It  is  not  good  that  man 
should  be  alone."  This  conception  predicated  a  sci- 
ence of  society,  but  its  formulation  was  destined  to 
be  long  delayed.  Science  implies  a  group  of  facts 
that  relate  to  a  division  of  natural  phenomena;  the 
common  attributes  of  these  facts  permit  of  their 
classification,  and  the  generalizations  that  the  proc- 
ess of  collection  reveals  supply  the  incentive  of  sci- 
entific effort.  Sociology,  as  the  science  of  society, 
attempts  to  collect  the  facts  of  society,  and  to  weave 
them  into  a  system  of  related  phenomena.  The  field 
of  investigation  includes  the  nature,  origin,  history, 
structure,  and  institutions  of  society.  Obviously, 
the  experiences  of  many  generations  were  necessary 
before  much  thought  was  given  to  human  relation- 
ships. The  Hebrews  were  the  first  people  to  face 
seriously  the  problem  of  a  social  situation,  and  to 
recognize  the  advantages  of  a  well-ordered  society. 
It  is  surprising  that  the'  sociologist  did  not  earlier 
recognize  the  rich  content  of  Hebrew  institutions  as 
a  source  of  important  data  for  his  field  of  investiga- 
tion. 

1 


INTRODUCTION 


The  term  "  biblical  sociology  "  seems  to  have  been 
first  used  by  Professor  Shailer  Mathews,  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago,  in  the  Biblical  World  for  Jan- 
uary, 1895. *  Four  years  later,  Professor  Frantz 
Buhl,  of  the  University  of  Leipzig,  published  his 
"  Die  Socialeji .  Verhaltnisse  der  Israelites,."  The 
emphasis  «df  Ctjiii  book  is  on  the  social  institutions  of 
Israel,  .and  .the  J5oint  of  view  represents  a  distinct 
departure  ixi  .tfe  -study  of  biblical  history.  In  1901, 
Day's  "  The  Social  Life  of  the  Hebrews  "  appeared. 
In  the  following  year,  Professor  George  A.  Barton, 
of  Bryn  Mawr  College,  published  an  important  vol- 
ume entitled  "  A  Sketch  of  Semitic  Origins :  Social 
and  Religious."  2  In  1909,  Professor  Ferdinand  S. 
Schenck,  of  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Re- 
formed Church  in  America,  published  his  "  The  So- 
ciology of  the  Bible."  The  "  Sociological  Study  of 
the  Bible,"  by  Louis  Wallis,  appeared  in  1912. 
Previous  to  the  appearance  of  the  two  latter  vol- 
umes, there  was  an  increasing  number  of  articles 
and  volumes  on  biblical  themes  that  gave  more  or 
less  emphasis  to  the  sociological  content  of  the  Bible. 

It  is  not  to  be  inferred  that  the  functional  view- 
point of  biblical  study  had  its  beginning  with  the 
appearance  of  these  volumes.  Obviously,  it  would 

iSee  Wallis'  "Sociological  Study  of  the  Bible"  (1912),  p. 
299. 

2G.  A.  Smith's  "Books  of  the  Twelve  Prophets"  (Ex- 
positor's Bible  Series)  appeared  in  1906.  While  the  title  does 
not  indicate  the  social  emphasis  of  this  volume,  few  books 
have  appeared  that  treat  so  completely  the  social  content  of  the 
prophetic  literature. 


INTRODUCTION  3 

be  difficult  to  determine  the  date  that  marked  the 
beginning  of  this  movement,  for  the  sociological 
point  of  view  must  have  long  preceded  printed  arti- 
cles and  volumes  relating  to  the  subject.  Religious 
sociology  is  not  synonymous  with  biblical  sociology. 
In  logical  development,  the  latter  may  be  said  to  be 
the  product  of  the  former.  Comte,  who  was  the 
first  to  use  the  word  "  sociology,"  takes,  as  his  start- 
ing point,  the  idea  of  religion.  "  Since  religion  em- 
braces all  our  existence,  its  history  must  be  an  epit- 
ome of  the  whole  history  of  our  development." 3 
Herbert  Spencer  devotes  more  than  half  of  Volume  I 
of  his  "  Principles  of  Sociology  "  to  a  study  of  re- 
ligious sociology.  The  papers  that  compose  this 
volume  were  written  between  1874  and  1876.  Spen- 
cer's approach  was  from  the  standpoint  of  social  evo- 
lution. His  method  was  antagonistic  to  the  tradi- 
tional methods  of  Bible  study,  and  for  the  time  being 
retarded  rather  than  promoted  "  biblical  sociology." 
But  the  influence  of  Spencer  appears  in  a  volume  by 
John  Fenton  published  under  the  title :  "  Early  He- 
brew Life :  A  Study  in  Sociology."  This  volume  ap- 
peared in  England  in  1880,  and  the  author  attempts 
to  trace  the  parallel  between  the  social  evolution  of 
the  institutions  of  the  Hebrews  and  that  of  other 
historic  peoples.  A  volume  by  Professor  W.  Rob- 
ertson Smith,  of  Cambridge,  entitled,  "  Kinship  and 
Marriage  in  Early  Arabia,"  and  published  in  1885, 
more  clearly  reveals  Spencer's  influence.  With  the 
adoption  of  the  method  of  Spencer  and  Comte 
by  students  of  religion,  it  was  but  a  natural  con- 
sequence that  the  Bible  should  come  in  for  its  share 

s  Edward  Caird's  "  The  Social  Philosophy  of  Compte,"  p.  20. 


4  INTRODUCTION 

of  attention  by  religio-sociological  investigators. 
The  content  of  biblical  sociology  is  difficult  to  de- 
fine at  this  stage  of  its  development.  Social  origins 
and  social  institutions,4  social  legislation,5  social 
pathology 6  and  the  social  attitudes  of  Jesus,  dis- 
cussed in  many  familiar  volumes,  are  representative 
of  the  phases  of  the  subject  thus  far  developed  in  a 
more  or  less  satisfactory  way.  The  social  teachings 
of  the  prophets  relate  to  family,  economic,  political, 
and  religious  institutions,  with  special  reference  to 
the  pathological  conditions  that  characterized  these 
institutions.  It  is  obvious  that  the  Bible  has  not  yet 
been  preempted  of  its  social  content. 

II 

The  cause  of  biblical  sociology  has  been  stimulated 
and  promoted  by  the  scientific  methods  of  the  mod- 
ern historian.  The  primary  aim  of  the  historian  is 
to  ascertain  facts.  The  relations  of  these  facts  are 
a  secondary  problem  of  the  historian.  The  primary 
problem  is  one  of  analysis  —  the  separation  of  fact 
from  fable,  experience  from  romance. 

The  secondary  problem  is  one  of  synthesis  —  the 
determination  of  the  relations,  each  to  the  other,  of 
the  facts.  The  sociologist  must  rely  upon  the  his- 
torian for  his  facts.  If  these  facts  be  vitiated  with 
an  element  of  myth,  obviously  the  sociologist  who 
relies  on  them  must  arrive  at  wrong  inductive  con- 
clusions. The  German  historian's  motto,  "  Was 
war,  wie  es  war  "  (What  was,  as  it  was),  gains  sig- 

*  Scares'  "The  Social  Institutions  of  the  Bible,"  pp.  19-27. 
5Schaeffer's    "Social  Legislation   of  the   Ancient   Semites" 
(1915). 
6  Schenck's  "  The  Sociology  of  the  Bible,"  Chap.  19. 


INTRODUCTION  5 

nificance  with  the  larger  use  that  is  now  being  made 
of  the  data  that  the  historian  collects.  Not  only  the 
sociologists,  but  all  social  scientists  must  rely  upon 
the  accuracy  of  the  facts  of  history.  Niebuhr  and 
his  successors  in  Germany  have  contributed  largely 
to  a  real  science  of  society.  The  application  of  this 
Germanic  doctrine  to  biblical  history  will  assist  the 
sociologist  in  evaluating  the  experiences  of  Hebrew 
life  and  conduct. 

The  historian's  problem  of  establishing  the  con- 
nections between  facts  almost  identifies  his  field  with 
that  of  the  sociologists.  The  correspondence,  how- 
ever, is  not  co-extensive.  It  is  more  accurate  to  say 
that  they  overlap  to  a  certain  extent.  With  increas- 
ing complexity,  human  experience  passes  through 
four  phases :  first,  the  analytic,  or  the  process  by 
which  the  facts  are  isolated  from  myth  and  romantic 
elements ;  second,  the  synthetic,  or  the  process  of 
connecting  the  facts  into  complete  experiences ; 
third,  the  evaluative,  or  the  estimate  that  is  placed 
on  the  facts ;  fourth,  the  constructive,  or  the  con- 
trol and  direction  of  the  facts.7  The  first  phase  is 
the  exclusive  province  of  history;  the  second  is  the 
joint  province  of  history  and  sociology;  the  third 
and  fourth  are  within  the  exclusive  province  of  so- 
ciology. 

History,  in  its  exclusive  sphere,  must  take  account 
of  facts  that  relate  to  two  classes  of  experiences  — 
those  that  are  common  to  all  peoples  and  those  that 
are  peculiar.  We  are  told  sometimes  that  "  His- 
tory repeats  itself."  That  is  only  a  partial  truth. 
There  are  constant  elements  in  history,  and  these 

7  Small's  "The  Meaning  of  Social  Science,"  p.  186. 


6  INTRODUCTION 

have  constituted  the  subject  matter  of  many  sci- 
ences, as,  for  example,  comparative  law,  comparative 
religion,  and  comparative  government.8  But  history 
reveals  its  distinct  and  individual  elements,  and  the 
process  of  relating  these  to  the  constant  elements  is 
the  method  used  by  the  historian  to  vitalize  and  in- 
dividualize his  subject  matter.  It  is  hardly  neces- 
sary to  say  that  these  unique  elements  lie  outside 
the  province  of  sociology.  To  attempt  to  make  them 
the  province  of  sociology  would  be  to  make  a  science 
of  sociology  impossible,  for  no  generalization  of  im- 
portance that  had  to  rely  on  such  data  would  be 
possible. 

In  the  present  study,  the  historical  situation  has 
been  presented  as  a  background  against  which  a  so- 
cial program  has  been  constructed.  The  accuracy 
of  the  facts  has  not  been  questioned,  except  in  so  far 
as  the  best  historical  authority  has  been  followed. 
It  happens  that,  in  many  cases,  the  accuracy  of  the 
descriptive  facts  is  corroborated  by  the  social  ap- 
peals of  the  prophet.  The  biblical  historian  needs 
to  check  the  facts  of  history  with  the  proclama- 
tions of  the  contemporaneous  prophet.  That  this 
method  has  been  followed  by  the  best  historians  is 
evident  to  the  discerning  student. 

That  the  Jewish  prophet  had  the  point  of  view  of 
the  sociologist  is  evident  from  his  constant  efforts 
to  evaluate  the  experiences  through  which  his  peo- 
ple were  passing.  He  did  not  stop  with  a  mere  esti- 
mate of  these  experiences  —  he  often  attempted  to 
control  the  facts  by  proclaiming  and  advocating  a 
constructive  program.  History  and  prophecy  ex- 
sGiddings'  "Inductive  Sociology,"  p.  8. 


INTRODUCTION  7 

emplify,  in  the  highest  degree,  the  modern  formula- 
tion of  the  relation  of  scientific  history  to  sociology. 

Ill 

There  are  at  least  two  ways  of  presenting  the  so- 
cial teaching  of  the  Jewish  prophets.  One  way  would 
be  to  take  each  social  concept  and  trace  it,  in  succes- 
sive relation,  to  each  of  the  prophets  who  advocated 
it.  For  example,  we  might  trace  the  concept  "  so- 
cial justice,"  as  advocated  in  succession  by  Amos, 
Hosea,  Micah,  Isaiah,  and  Jeremiah.  This  method 
has  the  advantage  of  giving  distinctness  and  emphasis 
to  the  various  social  concepts,  and  perspective  also 
would  be  given  to  the  growth  of  the  concept.  There 
would,  however,  be  this  disadvantage:  the  concepts 
presented  would,  necessarily,  be  more  or  less  detached 
from  one  another  and  from  their  exponents.  Be- 
sides, this  method  would  prevent  the  presentation  of 
the  complete  social  program  of  the  prophet.  It  has 
been  thought  best,  therefore,  to  adopt  the  method  of 
presenting  the  social  program  of  each  prophet,  in  so 
far  as  he  had  a  program,  in  succession.  In  this  way 
it  is  comparatively  easy  to  relate  the  prophet  to  the 
social  and  political  situation,  and  thus  bring  his  so- 
cial teaching  into  clear  relief. 

There  are  two  other  considerations  that  have  had 
a  bearing  upon  the  plan  of  presenting  the  social  con- 
ceptions of  the  prophets.  In  the  first  place,  the  so- 
cial concepts  as  conceived  by  the  prophets  do  not 
present  themselves  in  successive  stages  of  social  evo- 
lution. Referring  again  to  the  concept  "  social  jus- 
tice," we  know  that  this  is  an  advanced  factor  in  the 
scheme  of  social  progress,  yet  Amos,  the  first  of  the 


8  INTRODUCTION 

writing  prophets,  conceived  it  more  clearly  and  ap- 
plied it  more  accurately  to  his  social  environment 
than  did  any  of  his  successors.  The  relation  of  this 
concept  to  civil  and  political  justice  has  been  well 
presented  by  Lester  F.  Ward: 

"  Now  the  justice  of  which  we  have  been  speaking, 
vast  as  its  influence  has  been  in  securing  man's  moral 
advance,  is  after  all  only  civil  and  political  justice. 
It  is  a  very  different  thing  from  social  justice.  The 
civil  and  political  inequalities  of  men  have  been  fairly 
well  removed  by  it.  Person  and  property  are  toler- 
ably safe  under  its  rule.  It  was  a  great  step  in  so- 
cial achievement.  But  society  must  take  another 
step  in  the  same  direction.  It  must  establish  social 
justice.  The  present  social  inequalities  exist  for  the 
same  reason  that  civil  and  political  inequalities  once 
existed.  They  can  be  removed  by  an  extension  of 
the  same  policy  by  which  the  former  were  removed. 
The  attempt  to  do  this  will  be  attacked  and  de- 
nounced, as  was  the  other,  but  the  principle  involved 
is  the  same.  And  after  social  justice  shall  have  been 
attained  and  shall  become  the  settled  policy  of  so- 
ciety, no  one  will  any  more  dare  to  question  it  than 
to  question  civil  justice."  9 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  concept  "  social  jus- 
tice "  did  not  evolve  in  the  prophet's  mind  in  sequence 
to  civil  and  political  justice.  It  presented  itself  in 
the  thinking  of  Amos  as  a  full-grown  idea.  There- 
fore an  effort  to  treat  it  as  a  product  in  an  evolu- 
tionary process  is  impossible. 

The  other  consideration  that  seems  to  make  the 
present  plan  of  presentation  preferable  is  the  frag- 

»"  Applied  Sociology,"  p.  24. 


INTRODUCTION  9 

mentary  nature  of  the  social  messages  of  some  of  the 
prophets.  For  example,  the  message  of  Amos  is  rich 
in  social  content  while  it  is  almost  negligible  in 
Nahum.  The  social  situation  that  confronted  the 
prophets  in  successive  eras  made  their  social  pro- 
grams differ  widely.  At  best,  the  social  schemes  of 
all  the  prophets  did  not  include  a  synthesis  of  all  the 
divisions  of  human  welfare.  Of  the  six  grand  divi- 
sions, as  summarized  by  Professor  Small,10  the  proph- 
ets recognized  only  four  in  the  following  group : 

1.  Achievement  in  Promoting  Health. 

2.  Achievement  in  Producing  Wealth. 

3.  Achievement  in  Harmonizing  Human  Relations, 

4.  Achievement  in  Discovery  and  Spread  of  Knowl- 
edge. 

5.  Achievement  in  the  Fine  Arts. 

6.  Achievement  in  Religion. 

The  prophets'  largest  emphasis  was  on  the  last  fac- 
tor in  this  group,  but  the  third  factor  came  in  for  a 
large  share  of  attention.  The  production  of  wealth 
and  the  spread  of  knowledge  were  less  significant  in 
the  prophets'  scheme  of  achievement.  The  other  two 
—  the  promotion  of  health  and  attention  to  the  fine 
arts  —  were  not  a  part  of  the  social  consciousness 
of  the  prophets'  time.  Obviously,  many  phases  of 
the  other  four  divisions  of  human  welfare  were  un- 
known properties  during  the  period  of  prophetic  ac- 
tivity. 

IV 

The  plan  of  study  predetermines  a  logical  method 
10  "General  Sociology,"  p.  718. 


10       .  INTRODUCTION 

of  investigation.  A  comprehension  of  the  teachings 
of  the  prophets,  whether  prophetic  or  social,  involves 
a  careful  study  of  the  historical  record  and  prophetic 
writings.  By  a  process  of  analysis  the  special  ma- 
terial is  separated,  and  the  method  of  synthesis  is 
applied  in  weaving  this  material  into  unity.  The 
classification  of  this  material  into  a  system  involves 
the  application  of  the  inductive  method  which  lies 
close  to  synthesis  in  every  logical  scheme.  A  study 
of  the  social  teaching  of  a  prophet,  therefore,  in- 
volves, first,  the  collection  of  all  the  material  from 
every  source  of  his  social  message,  and,  secondly,  the 
shaping  of  this  material  into  a  system  or  social  pro- 
gram. 

Induction  is  the  chief  reliance  of  sociological  in- 
vestigation,11 but  the  other  methods  of  scientific  re- 
search cannot  be  ignored  in  any  scheme  that  has  for 
its  object  the  construction  of  a  social  program.  The 
three  logical  processes  herein  indicated  are  absolutely 
necessary  in  the  construction  of  the  social  program 
of  any  writer  who  has  himself  failed  to  arrange  the 
content  of  his  thoughts  into  a  definite  system.  Ob- 
viously, the  prophets  were  not  consciously  sociol- 
ogists. In  the  process  of  analysis,  therefore,  the 
student  is  constantly  confronted  with  the  question: 
"  Did  the  prophet  have  a  social  message  ?  "  With 
the  affirmative  answer  to  this  question  comes  another 
question  of  equal  importance :  "  What  sociology  did 
the  prophet  advocate?  "  The  first  question  cannot 
be  answered  until  a  patient  study  has  been  made  of  all 
the  sources  of  his  material.  The  second  question  can- 
not be  answered  until  this  material  has  been  collected 

nGiddings'  "Inductive  Sociology,"  p.  10. 


INTRODUCTION  11 

and  systematized.  The  correctness  of  the  investiga- 
tor's conclusions  will  depend  on  the  reliability  of  the 
historical  data  and  fidelity  to  scientific  method. 

'Accuracy  in  evaluating  the  prophetic  literature  is 
very  important  in  view  of  the  influence  that  the  teach- 
ings of  the  prophets  are  exerting  on  the  modern 
world.  More  and  more  the  prophets  are  being 
quoted  as  authorities  on  social  questions.  The  so- 
cial principles  proclaimed  by  them  are  finding  new 
applications  to  present  world  conditions. 

A  group  of  men  with  such  an  influence  needs  to  be 
correctly  understood.  This  means  that  their  mes- 
sages need  to  be  accurately  interpreted  to  the  mod- 
ern world.  The  contents  of  this  volume  are  offered 
as  a  modest  contribution  to  a  better  understanding 
of  the  thought  and  motive  of  the  Jewish  prophet. 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  BEGINNING  OF  JEWISH  PROPHECY 

Moses  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  of 
the  Jewish  prophets.1  The  Hebrew  word,  "  nabi," 
which  means  "  prophet,"  had  been  used  in  a  general 
sense  before,2  but  the  term  is  applied  to  Moses  in 
exactly  the  same  sense  that  we  find  it  used  in  referring 
to  the  great  moral  and  religious  leaders  of  a  later 
age.3  We  also  find  the  method  he  used  and  his  de- 
pendence on  Jehovah  very  similar  to  that  which  char- 
acterized the  prophets  of  later  times.4  A  brief  study 
of  Moses,  the  prophet,  will  mark  the  starting  point 
for  subsequent  studies. 

SOURCES  OF  FACTS  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  MOSES 

The  commonly  accepted  facts  about  the  life  of 
Moses  are  contained  in  the  books  of  Exodus,  Leviti- 
cus, Numbers,  and  Deuteronomy,  four  of  the  five 
books  which  are  known  as  the  Pentateuch.  These 
have  usually  been  called  the  "  Five  Books  of  Moses." 
However,  it  is  impossible  to  tell  just  how  much  of  the 
writings  contained  in  these  five  books  can  be  attrib- 
uted to  him.  The  contents  of  these  books  would  lead 
us  to  believe  that  they  represent  facts  and  record 
human  experiences  that  must  have  extended  over  much 
more  than  a  single  generation.  These  books  contain 

iDeut.  34:  10.  3jer.  7:  25. 

2  Gen.  20:  7.  *  Num.  11:  25. 

13 


14  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

legal  systems  that  must  have  developed  through  long 
years  of  Hebrew  history.  The  system  of  worship, 
the  social  adjustments  and  political  customs,  all  lead 
to  the  conclusion  that  a  comparatively  long  period 
was  represented  in  the  recorded  facts  of  these  books. 

But  the  view  that  Moses  probably  did  not  write  all 
of  these  books  does  not  justify  the  conclusion  that  he 
did  not  write  any  part  of  them.  Cornill  declares 
that  we  know  absolutely  nothing  of  Moses.  "  All 
original  records  are  missing;  we  have  not  received  a 
line,  not  even  a  word,  from  Moses  himself,  or  from  any 
of  his  contemporaries ;  even  the  celebrated  Ten  Com- 
mandments are  not  from  him,  but,  as  can  be  proved, 
were  written  in  the  first  half  of  the  seventh  century 
between  700  and  650  B.  c.  The  oldest  accounts  we 
have  of  Moses  are  five  hundred  years  later  than  his 
time."  5  The  internal  evidence  does  not  support  this 
sweeping  conclusion.  Certain  sections  specifically 
lay  claim  to  Mosaic  authorship.6  The  many  public 
addresses  found  in  Deuteronomy  are  explained  with 
least  difficulty  by  accepting  them  as  being  Mosaic 
deliverances. 

The  record,  as  far  as  we  can  determine  it,  seems  to 
support  the  view  that  the  facts  connected  with  the 
life  of  Moses  and  his  public  utterances  were  handed 
down  by  oral  tradition,  and  these  traditions  seem  to 
have  come  from  four  different  sources.  They  were: 
(1)  A  compilation  of  earlier  traditions,  written  about 
the  middle  of  the  ninth  century  in  the  Kingdom  of 
Judah,  and  recorded  in  what  has  been  called  the 
Judean  or  Jahvistic  documents;  (£)  a  compilation 
widely  circulated  in  the  Northern  Kingdom,  written 

5  Ex.  17:  14;  24:  4.  «  «  The  Prophets  of  Israel,'*  p.  17. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  15 

about  a  century  later  (750  B.  c.),  and  called  the  Elo- 
histic  (E)  documents;  (3)  a  priestly  document  that 
seems  to  have  been  written  during  the  reign  of  Josiah 
about  621  B.  c.,  and  called  the  Deuteronomic  (D) 
documents;  and  (4)  a  priestly  document  (usually 
called  the  P  documents)  that  is  credited  to  the  fifth 
century.  All  these  documents  have  been  combined 
to  make  up  the  sources  in  the  life  and  work  of  Moses. 
That  these  various  records  and  documents  reflect  ac- 
curately many  facts  and  utterances  of  this  great 
law-giver  and  prophet  can  hardly  be  denied ;  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  we  are  doubtless  safe  in  asserting 
that,  in  the  historic  stretch  of  years  over  which  these 
records  extended,  there  crept  into  them  many  reli- 
gious conceptions,  social  ideals,  and  moral  principles 
that  developed  after  the  death  of  Moses,  but  which, 
under  the  all-prevailing  spell  of  hero  worship,  were 
attributed  to  the  first  of  the  prophets. 

EARLY  LIFE  OF  MOSES 

The  sources  on  which  we  must  rely  for  the  facts 
in  the  life  of  Moses  tend  to  idealize  this  great  moral 
leader,  and  probably  are  overdrawn  at  various  points, 
but  they  are  serviceable  in  giving  the  Jewish  concep- 
tion of  this  great  man. 

The  narrator  traces  the  sojourn  of  the  Hebrew 
clans  in  Canaan  and  the  incidents  connected  there- 
with. The  conditions  that  lead  to  the  removal  to 
the  land  of  the  Pharaohs  are  vividly  portrayed.  The 
friendly  reception,  because  of  the  high  position  held 
by  Joseph,  a  kinsman,  is  carefully  related,  and  then 
follows  a  brief  account  of  the  gradual  unfriendliness 
of  the  Egyptians  toward  all  foreigners,  which  ulti- 


16  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

mately  resulted  in  the  Hebrews'  being  reduced  to  a 
state  of  serfdom,  in  which  condition  they  were  com- 
pelled to  perform  the  most  burdensome  labor  upon 
the  engineering  works  of  the  king  in  the  various  proj- 
ects that  he  undertook  to  promote.  Rameses  II  is 
supposed  to  have  been  the  Pharaoh  of  the  oppression, 
although  this  is  not  mentioned  on  the  monuments  of 
the  country.  The  hardships  of  the  Hebrews  grew 
increasingly  hard  until  the  climax  came  with  the 
edict  which  was  sent  forth  to  destroy  all  the  male 
children  of  Hebrew  parentage. 

It  was  at  this  crisis  in  Hebrew  affairs  that  Moses 
was  born.  The  remarkable  narratives  recorded  in 
Exodus  regarding  his  birth,  his  romantic  escape  from 
death,  his  adoption  by  the  Egyptian  princess,  and  his 
education  in  the  midst  of  the  court  of  kings  and 
princes  are  too  familiar  to  need  rehearsing  here. 
After  making  due  allowance  for  the  compiler's  cred- 
ulity, it  is  safe  to  assume  that,  in  the  essential  fea- 
tures, the  narrative  may  be  accepted  as  a  reliable 
biography. 

EXPERIENCES  IN  MIDIAN 

By  the  time  Moses  had  reached  manhood  he  had 
become  aware  of  the  wrongs  and  injustice  to  which 
his  people  had  been  subjected,  and  he  seems  to  have 
been  deeply  interested  in  the  problem  of  relieving  them 
of  their  hard  estate.  He  appears  to  have  taken  some 
steps  and  planned  some  measures  for  their  relief,  al- 
though we  cannot  tell  just  how  far  he  attempted  to 
carry  these  relief  measures  at  this  time.  The  im- 
portant fact  in  this  connection  is  that  he  was  not 
prepared  for  the  great  task  that  confronted  him. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  17 

He  had  had  a  large  opportunity  for  education  and 
luxury  in  the  court  of  Pharaoh,  but  this  in  itself  had 
probably  unfitted  him  for  the  task  of  leadership  and 
reform.  As  we  shall  so  often  see  in  the  lives  of  the 
prophets  that  followed  him,  he  needed  to  experience 
some  of  the  hardships,  and  to  learn  first  hand  some 
of  the  conditions  of  life  with  which  he  was  called 
upon  to  deal.  This  opportunity  came  in  an  unex- 
pected way.  Upon  seeing  an  Egyptian  task-master 
strike  a  Hebrew  laborer,  Moses'  anger  was  so  great 
as  to  cause  him  to  slay  the  Egyptian,  and  hide  his 
body  in  the  sand.  This  made  it  necessary  for  Moses 
to  flee  from  the  land. 

His  flight  took  him  to  the  east  of  the  Gulf  of 
Akabah,  in  the  region  of  Midian,7  where  he  took 
refuge  with  a  nomadic  tribe.  This  is  a  deeply  sig- 
nificant fact  in  the  life  of  Moses.  Here  he  found  a 
home,  and  after  a  time  married  the  daughter  of  the 
sheikh,  and  began  to  live  the  simple  life  of  a  shep- 
herd. Somewhere  in  this  region  was  the  mount  of 
Sinai  or  Horeb.  Unconsciously,  Moses  was  becom- 
ing familiar  with  a  region  that  was  to  play  a  large 
part  in  the  history  of  his  people  under  his  leadership. 
But  even  more  interesting  and  important  is  the  con- 
clusion reached  by  some  that  Moses  first  learned  the 
name  "  Yahveh  "  while  an  exile  in  this  region.8 

Thus  had  Moses  acquired  the  essential  prepara- 
tion for  the  task  that  confronted  him.  His  edu- 

7  Ex.  2:  15;  4:  28. 

s  Cornill  declares  that  the  name  of  God  ("  Yahveh ")  had 
no  obvious  Hebrew  etymology.  He  then  proceeds  to  show 
that  the  word  must  have  been  of  Arabic  origin,  and  concludes 
as  follows:  "The  Sinai  peninsula  belongs  linguistically  and 
ethnographically  to  Arabia,  and  when  we  keep  all  these  facts 


18  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

cation  was  at  last  complete.  He  had  acquired  knowl- 
edge of  the  geography  of  the  section  through  which 
he  was  to  lead  his  people;  he  had  experienced  some 
of  the  hardships  of  primitive  and  rural  life,  and, 
above  all,  he  had  gained  possession  of  a  name  that 
was  to  become  sacred  and  significant  in  the  religious 
life  of  his  people. 

He  was  now  prepared  for  his  call  to  duty,  which 
came  in  the  burning  bush  that  failed  to  be  consumed. 
He  interpreted  the  symbol,  and  in  reverent  silence 
accepted  the  sacred  call  to  service.  He  at  once 
thought  of  the  hopes  and  promises  cherished  by  his 
people :  that  they  were  destined  to  return  and  possess 
the  land  of  Canaan,  and  that  they  were  not  to  be 
consumed  when  called  upon  to  oppose  powerful  na- 
tions who  possessed  the  land.  He  was  now  ready  to 
return  and  assist  his  people  to  realize  the  symbolism 
in  his  call  to  service,  and  he  was  to  carry  to  his  peo- 
ple a  new  name  that  they  were  to  reverence.  Hereto- 
fore, they  had  known  their  God  by  the  colorless  title 
of  "  Elohim,"  a  general  name  for  deity ;  now  they 
were  to  give  him  the  personal  name  of  "  Jahveh," 
the  giver  of  every  blessing,  the  personal  Jehovah  of 
men  and  nations. 

SOCIAL  MESSAGE  OF  MOSES 

When  Moses  again  appeared  in  Egypt,  after  years 
spent  in  Midian,  he  was  matured  and  disciplined.  He 
returned  as  a  social  reformer  and  leader.  He  did  not 

before  us  the  conviction  is  forced  upon  us  that  Yahveh  was 
originally  the  name  of  one  of  the  gods  worshiped  on  Mount 
Sinai,  which  from  the  earliest  times  was  considered  holy,  and 
that  Moses  adopted  this  name,  and  bestowed  it  on  the  God  of 
Israel,  the  God  of  their  fathers." 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  19 

seek  to  better  their  condition  by  urging  radical  re- 
forms and  advocating  political  changes,  but  realizing 
the  futility  of  such  a  plan,  he  set  about  the  task  of 
removing  his  people  from  the  land,  as  Jehovah  had 
commanded.  His  final  triumph  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  this  undertaking,  after  almost  insurmount- 
able difficulties,  is  familiar  to  every  Bible  student. 
The  Exodus  9  was  the  first  achievement  of  Moses  and 
his  first  social  victory,  for  the  people  had  been  saved 
from  the  oppression  of  the  Egyptians.  Their  needs, 
however,  were  now  greater  than  ever  before.  Their 
social  problems  now  became  more  internal  than  ex- 
ternal. The  long  years  spent  in  the  desert  were 
used  by  Moses  in  making  those  social  and  religious 
adjustments  so  essential  to  the  future  tasks  and  trials 
of  his  people. 

The  great  work  of  Moses  ended  when  the  people 
were  led  to  the  east  bank  of  the  Jordan,  ready  to 
enter  the  land  of  Canaan.  His  achievement  prob- 
ably exceeded  that  of  any  other  character  of  history. 
He  took  a  people  in  the  status  of  enslaved  serfs ;  he 
left  them  a  free  people.  He  found  them  weak  and 
without  confidence;  he  left  them  self-assertive  and 
sure.  He  found  them  a  heterogeneous  mass  of  in- 
dividuals ;  he  left  them  a  homogeneous  people,  pre- 
pared to  unite  into  a  nation. 

But,  in  exalting  the  hero,  we  must  not  ignore  the 
hero's  material.  Moses  did  not  give  to  Israel  its  re- 
ligion ;  that  the  people  already  possessed,  and  it  was 
a  religion  superior  to  all  others  that  existed  at  the 
time.  Israel  had  never  had  a  mythology,  their  deity 
was  never  differentiated  sexually,  human  sacrifice  was 
»Ex.  4:  29;  15:  21. 


20  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS 

unknown,  and  the  degradation  of  woman  had  no  re- 
ligious sanction.  A  people  with  such  a  religion  of- 
fered to  the  reformer  greater  possibilities  than  a  pa- 
gan people  with  idolatrous  practices  and  a  degraded 
animalism.  However,  Moses  contributed  much  of 
the  ethical  and  social  element  to  this  religion  and 
gave  new  applications  of  their  religion  to  social  ad- 
justments. The  importance  of  the  contribution  of 
Moses  to  the  religion  of  Israel  was  duly  recognized 
by  the  author  of  Deuteronomy,  who  declared  that, 
"  There  hath  not  arisen  a  prophet  since  in  Israel  like 
unto  Moses,  whom  Jehovah  knew  face  to  face."  10 

TOPICS  FOR   REPORTS  AND  INVESTIGATION 

1.  A  Study  of  the  Sources  in  the  Life  of  Moses. 

2.  Moses'    Midian   Experience   as   a   Preparation   for 
his  Life's  Work. 

3.  Moses'  Contribution  to  the  Religion  of  Israel. 

4.  Social  Elements  in  the  Legal  System  of  the  He- 
brews. 

5.  Social    Conditions    in    Egypt    during   the    Age   of 
Moses. 

FURTHER  READINGS 

Blakie's  "Bible  History";  Wade's  "Old  Testament 
History " ;  Kent's  "  Heroes  and  Crises  of  Early  He- 
brew History  (Historical  Bible)  chapters  XXI,  XXVI; 
Cornill's  "  The  Prophets  of  Israel,"  pp.  16-26  on 
"  The  Religion  of  Moses  " ;  article  on  "  Religion  of 
Israel"  in  Hasting's  "Bible  Dictionary";  articles  on 
Moses  in  encyclopedias  and  Bible  dictionaries. 

loDeiit.  34:  10. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  PROPHET  AS  NATION-BUILDER 

The  death  of  Moses  came  not  far  from  1200  B.  c., 
and  soon  thereafter  the  clans  of  Israel  crossed  the 
Jordan  and  attempted  to  occupy  the  land  of  Canaan. 
It  probably  required  more  than  a  century  from  the 
time  the  Hebrews  first  gained  a  foothold  in  Canaan 
until  they  were  able  even  to  begin  to  secure  an  estab- 
lished government.  The  story  of  the  occupation  is 
vividly  described  in  the  first  and  second  chapters  of 
the  Book  of  Judges,  which  by  some  is  regarded  as 
the  oldest  book  in  the  Bible.  We  have  here  a  vivid 
account  of  the  desperate  struggle  that  Israel  made 
to  gain  a  permanent  foothold  in  the  country.  We 
find  that  there  was  little  unity  of  action.  The  tribe 
of  Judah  drifted  to  the  south,  the  two  clans  of  Joseph 
gained  a  foothold  in  the  central  section,  while  the 
other  tribes  were  scattered  in  various  sections  of  the 
country.  After  years  of  struggle,  in  which  these 
clans  experienced  alternately  victory  and  defeat,  the 
conquest  was  complete  over  the  Canaanites  and  Israel 
secured  control  of  the  country. 

THE  AGE  OF  TRANSITION  — THE  JUDGES 

The  period  between  the  beginning  of  nationality 
and  the  actual  establishment  of  the  kingdom  was 
characterized  by  a  new  order  of  leadership.  Long 
after  Israel  had  gained  supremacy  in  Canaan  the 

21 


m  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

antagonisms  and  conflicts  with  the  native  population 
continued.  This  was  naturally  to  be  expected.  The 
Canaanite  civilization  was  much  older  than  that  of 
the  Hebrews,  and  in  many  respects  it  possessed  su- 
perior elements  of  strength.  We  would  expect  the 
social  conflict  to  continue  until  the  two  civilizations 
amalgamated  through  intermarriage,  or  until  one 
race  was  completely  destroyed  by  the  other.  The 
perils  incident  to  this  struggle  developed  here  and 
there  some  leader  of  note  whose  achievements  exalted 
him  above  his  fellow  men.  These  local  heroes  later 
acquired  the  title  of  judges,  but  their  functions  were 
rather  those  of  military  leaders  than  of  judicial  offi- 
cers. These  judges  did  not  follow  each  other  in  suc- 
cession, and  there  was  no  official  relation  between 
them.  Two  or  more  often  exercised  their  functions 
at  the  same  time,  in  different  tribes,  and  there  were, 
doubtless,  considerable  intervals  in  which  there  was 
no  one  who  claimed  title  to  the  office.  They  were 
not  of  equal  prominence,  for  some,  by  virtue  of  un- 
usual powers  or  achievements,  gained  wider  fame  than 
others.  Among  these  were  Othniel  of  Judah,  Deb- 
orah and  Barak  of  Issachar,  Gideon  of  Manasseh, 
Jepthah  of  Gilead,  and  Samson  of  Dan.  These  men 
were  not  great  moral  leaders  and  reformers,  but  were 
devoted  to  the  national  God  of  their  people,  and 
doubtless  some  of  them  possessed  real  religious  feel- 
ing. However,  the  great  need  of  the  time  was  the 
appearance  of  a  prophet  like  Moses  who  would  exalt 
the  name  of  Jehovah,  and  weld  the  people  into  a 
nation. 

THE  PROPHET  SAMUEL 

Samuel  was  raised  up  to  fulfill  this  mission.     He 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  23 

marks  the  transition  from  judge  to  prophet,  as  Moses 
marked  the  change  from  law-giver  to  prophet.  The 
story  of  the  second  great  prophet  of  Israel  is  re- 
corded in  the  first  of  the  two  books  that  bear  his 
name,  although  he  is  not  the  author  but  the  hero. 
The  four  books  of  Samuel  —  Kings  are  really  one 
continuous  prophetic  record  which  interestingly  in- 
terweaves biography  and  history.  These  books  fur- 
nish us  our  first  great  experiment  in  nation  building, 
and  some  of  the  leaders  connected  with  the  process 
deserve  an  imperishable  fame.  Samuel,  who  was  one 
of  these,  was  born  in  the  village  of  Ramah,  which  is 
located  a  short  distance  southwest  of  Bethel  and 
about  twelve  miles  to  the  south  of  Shiloh.  He  was 
the  son  of  Elkanah,  a  priest,  and  therefore  of  Leviti- 
cal  descent.  His  mother,  Hannah,  had  sought  from 
God  the  gift  of  a  son  for  a  long  time,  as  she  was 
childless ;  so  when  the  son  was  born  she  called  him 
Samuel,  "  the  asked,"  or  "  heard  of  God."  The  early 
life  of  this  promising  child  is  briefly  summarized  in 
the  following  words :  "  The  child  Samuel  grew  on, 
and  was  in  favor  both  with  the  Lord,  and  also  with 
men" 

The  judgeship  of  Samuel  may  be  said  to  have  be- 
gun immediately  after  the  close  of  the  disastrous  bat- 
tle of  Aphek,  in  which  the  Philistines  totally  defeated 
the  Hebrews.  The  ark,  which  had  been  carried  into 
the  battle  by  superstitious  priests,  was  also  lost. 
Shiloh  was  destroyed,  and  many  of  the  priests  were 
slain.  The  people  were  hopelessly  discouraged  at 
this  disaster,  and  a  grave  crisis  confronted  them,  for 
they  were  left  without  moral  or  political  leadership. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  Samuel  assumed  leadership 


24  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

as  the  judge  and  adviser  of  his  people.  He  aroused 
the  Hebrews  to  a  new  sense  of  their  power  by  stim- 
ulating their  faith  and  hope.  He  gathered  the  clans 
and  imparted  to  them  a  new  sense  of  duty  and  power, 
and,  as  a  result  of  his  efforts,  Ebenezer  won  a  tri- 
umphant victory,1  and  the  Philistines  were  conquered 
and  subdued  when  the  Hebrews  were  attacked  at 
Mizpah. 

Doubtless  the  influence  of  Samuel  as  a  prophet 
was  made  possible  because  of  his  work  as  a  judge  in 
Israel.  His  influence  was  great,  for  we  are  told  that 
"  the  word  of  Samuel  came  to  all  Israel."  2  He  has 
been  called  the  first  of  the  prophets.3  His  twenty 
years  as  prophet  to  his  people  is  briefly  told  in  three 
verses  of  scripture,4  but  there  is  much  we  can  infer 
from  other  passages.  He  seems  to  have  made  regu- 
lar circuits  5  to  the  hill  towns  of  central  Palestine, 
and  remained  for  a  time  at  each,  giving  instruction  to 
the  people,  and  exalting  before  them  the  name  of  Je- 
hovah, the  national  God  of  Israel.  The  important 
towns  of  Bethel,  Gilgal,  and  Mizpah  were  frequently 
visited  by  him  because  they  were  easily  accessible  to 
the  people  of  the  neighboring  districts,  and  their 
early  connection  with  religious  rites  made  them  popu- 
lar centers  for  moral  instruction. 

We  cannot  with  certainty  determine  the  actual 
results  of  the  visits  of  Samuel  to  these  various  re- 
ligious centers.  It  is  certain  that  he  exercised  both 
the  office  of  judge  and  prophet,  and  doubtless  the 
prestige  of  the  former  made  his  influence  as  prophet 

iSam.  7:  5-12.  *  Sam.  7:  2-4. 

2  Sam.  4:  1.  5  Sam.  7:  2-4,  15-17. 

s  Acts  3:  24. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  25 

more  effective,  for  at  this  time  prophecy  had  not 
gained  a  commanding  place  in  the  estimation  of  the 
people.  But  certainly  the  exercise  of  the  functions 
of  both  offices  was  not  inconsistent  in  Israel,  for 
patriotism  and  religion  were  one  with  the  Hebrews. 
Loyalty  to  the  nation  was  inseparably  connected 
with  loyalty  to  Jehovah.  Samuel  saw  that  the  su- 
preme need  of  his  people  was  national  unity,  and  he 
sought  to  accomplish  this  by  establishing  a  common 
faith  and  worship  of  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Israel. 
This  was  to  be  followed  by  the  selection  of  a  common 
leader  for  all  the  tribes  and  clans  among  the  Hebrew 
people.  Samuel  knew  the  power  of  public  opinion, 
and  he  was  a  correct  observer  of  the  changing  con- 
ceptions of  the  people,  for,  when  he  had  secured 
national  recognition  of  the  worship  of  Jehovah,  we 
see  him  taking  the  second  step,  which  brought  into 
existence  the  kingdom  of  Israel  and  created  a  po- 
litical state  on  the  basis  of  a  theocracy.  This  tran- 
sition is  one  of  the  most  interesting  events  of  his- 
tory. 

SAUL  CHOSEN  KING 

In  the  beginning  of  the  public  ministry  of  Samuel 
it  would  have  been  impossible  to  unite  the  Hebrews 
under  one  king.  The  situation  at  that  time  is  well 
summarized  in  a  sentence  found  in  the  Book  of 
Judges :  "  There  was  no  king  in  Israel  in  those  days, 
but  every  man  did  that  which  was  right  in  his  own 
eyes." 6  But  the  prophet  through  his  labors  had 
brought  about  a  marvelous  change  in  public  opin- 
ion. The  people  had  been  brought  to  see  the  com- 

6  Judges  17:  6;  21:  25. 


26  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

mon  danger  that  threatened  them  if  they  remained 
disunited,  and  the  great  opportunities  that  awaited 
them  if  they  united  their  strength  in  a  common  cause. 
When  this  opportunity  came,  Samuel  had  reached  old 
age,  and  he  decided  to  name  his  sons,  according  to 
precedent,  as  his  successors.  They  proved  un- 
worthy, however,  and  on  account  of  their  dishon- 
esty and  corruption,  were  promptly  repudiated  by 
the  people,  whom  Samuel  had  already  trained  to 
cherish  higher  ideals.  The  logic  of  events  pointed 
to  the  next  step.  Other  nations,  such  as  Egypt, 
Syria,  Moab,  and  Edom  had  kings  — "  Why  would 
not  such  a  plan  be  wise  for  us  ?  "  This  thought,  no 
doubt,  had  long  been  in  the  mind  of  Samuel.  Did 
Samuel  possess  the  ambition  to  be  the  first  king  of 
his  people?  Was  he  fearful  that  such  a  great  civil 
power  would  separate  the  people  from  the  worship 
of  Jehovah?  Was  there  the  fear  that  a  military 
leadership  would  supersede  the  leadership  of  the 
prophet?  These  questions  are  left  unanswered  ex- 
cept in  so  far  as  future  action  lifts  the  veil  of  doubt. 

There  are  three  different  accounts  of  the  choosing 
of  Saul  as  king  of  Israel,  and  each  is  instructive  and 
of  peculiar  interest.  Samuel  occupies  an  important 
place  in  each,  but  the  real  attitude  of  Samuel  was 
not  the  same  in  each  of  the  three  records. 

( 1 )  In  the  first  account,  Saul  was  chosen  by  Sam- 
uel privately  at  Ramah,  where  *he  had  gone  to  con- 
sult the  seer  while  on  a  journey  in  search  of  his  fa- 
ther's asses.  His  surprise  was  so  great  that  he 
could  not  believe  the  announcement  of  the  prophet. 
The  reality  of  the  situation  was  impressed  on  him 
by  certain  signs  that  were  revealed  to  him  on  his 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  27 

way  home,  but  his  appointment  lacked  confirmation 
by  the  whole  people.  This  came  later  on,  when 
Jabesh-Gilead,  a  Hebrew  town  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Jordan,  was  besieged.  Saul,  in  his  own  name  and 
that  of  Samuel,  called  the  warring  forces  of  Israel 
together  and  forced  the  enemy  to  raise  the  siege. 
This  gave  Saul  preeminence  and  popularity,  and  he 
was  immediately  proclaimed  king  of  the  people.  In 
this  entire  narrative  the  attitude  of  Samuel  is  one 
of  approval  of  the  choice  of  Saul  as  king,  and  he 
seemed  to  have  regarded  it  as  the  final  product  of  all 
his  labors.7  . 

(2)  In  the  second  account,  Saul  is  chosen  by  lot. 
In  this  record  we  have  some  justification  for  be- 
lieving that  Samuel  was  disappointed  that  he  was 
not  made  king.8  He  seems  here  to  have  regarded 
the  demand  for  a  king  as  unjustifiable,  and  a  mani- 
festation of  a  lack  of  appreciation  for  his  endeavors, 
and  disloyalty  to  Jehovah.  In  this  account  the  peo- 
ple made  their  request  to  the  prophet  for  a  king, 
and  he  seems  to  have  reluctantly  acceded  to  their 
requests.  When  the  people  assembled  at  Mizpah,  to 
which  place  Samuel  had  summoned  them,  Saul  was 
chosen  by  lot.9 

The  apparent  discrepancy  in  these  accounts  may 
be  easily  explained  by  noting  the  different  points  em- 
phasized in  each.  In  the  first  account,  emphasis  is 
laid  upon  the  kingship  as  the  product  of  the  needs  of 
the  people  for  central  authority  and  national  leader- 
ship. In  the  second,  the  writer  is  alluding  to  the 
danger  that  threatens  Israel  if  it  depends  more  upon 
the  new  form  of  government  and  political  leadership 

71  Sam.  9.  si  Sam.  8:  1-22.  »I  Sam.  10:  17-24. 


28  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

than  upon  faith  in  Jehovah.  This  two-fold  point  of 
view  is  the  best  possible  evidence  of  the  substantial 
accuracy  of  both  accounts  as  valid  historical  data. 

(3)  In  the  third  account,  Saul  is  described  as 
having  been  made  king  by  public  acclaim  because  of 
a  heroic  deed.10  He  had  led  the  Hebrew  forces  to 
victory  against  the  Ammonites,  who  had  besieged 
the  town  of  Jabesh-Gilead  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Jordan.  His  successful  leadership  raised  him  to  the 
rank  of  a  hero,  and  the  people  immediately  assem- 
bled at  Gilgal,  and  made  Saul  king  of  Israel.  Here 
the  commanding  influence  of  Samuel  is  clearly  re- 
vealed. The  people  first  consulted  him  about  the 
advisability  of  making  Saul  king,  and  the  prophet 
seems  to  have  tested  the  faith  of  the  hero  before 
giving  an  answer.  The  response  of  Saul  seems  to 
have  been  satisfactory,  for  Samuel  took  the  initiative 
in  arranging  for  the  ceremonies  of  coronation  at 
Gilgal,  and  gave  his  hearty  approval  to  all  of  them. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  study  to  follow  the 
fortunes  of  the  kings  of  Israel,  but  a  further  word 
is  necessary  to  complete  the  record  of  Samuel  as  the 
founder  of  the  kingdom.  The  history  of  Saul's  reign 
is  far  from  complete,  but  there  is  sufficient  evidence 
for  us  to  determine  the  policy  of  his  reign.  He  was 
not  willing  to  follow  the  advice  of  Samuel,  which  was 
to  magnify  the  name  of  Jehovah  in  his  kingdom. 
For  this  reason  Samuel  withdrew  his  support,11  and 
later  expressed  bitter  grief  that  he  had  approved 
of  making  Saul  king.12  But  he  did  not  give  up  the 
idea  of  establishing  a  permanent  kingdom,  for  he 
began  immediately  to  seek  a  successor  to  Saul.  He 

10  I  Sam.  11:  15.  «  I  Sam.  13:  8.  12  I  Sam.  15:  11. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  29 

sought  to  prevent  a  successor  from  Saul's  family  by 
the  selection  of  David,  the  youngest  son  of  Jesse, 
whom  the  Lord  approved,13  and  immediately  "  the 
spirit  of  the  Lord  departed  from  Saul,"  and  the 
power  and  influence  of  David  increased  from  that 
day  until  he  was  finally  invited  to  be  king  and  his 
capital  was  established  at  Hebron. 

Thus  did  Samuel  bring  into  existence  the  kingdom 
of  Israel  as  an  established  government,  but  his  work 
is  of  much  greater  significance  than  even  that,  for, 
in  making  David  king,  he  established  the  beginning 
of  the  spiritual  kingdom  that  was  to  be  revealed  and 
perpetuated  in  Jesus,  the  Christ. 

SAMUEL  AS  SOCIAL  REFORMER 

It  is  not  contended  that  Samuel  consciously  had 
in  mind  any  social  program  in  his  work  as  prophet. 
This  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  true  of  any  prophet  of 
Israel,  but  a  student  of  the  Bible  cannot  fail  to  see 
that  Samuel  made  distinct  contributions  to  social 
order.  His  fundamental  contributions  consisted  in 
directing  the  energies  of  the  people  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  political  unity  and  social  security 
through  a  military  organization.  This  is  what  Pro- 
fessor Giddings,14  has  characterized  as'  the  first  of 
the  three  great  stages  in  the  evolution  of  civil  so- 
cieties. Samuel  accomplished  this  task  by  exactly 

i3l  Sam.  16:  11-13. 

i*  The  three  stages  in  the  evolution  of  civil  societies  as  de- 
scribed by  Giddings  may  be  stated  as  follows:  (1)  Military 
organization,  where  there  is  little  or  no  friendly  relation  with 
similar  societies;  (2)  the  stage  of  intellectual  and  personal 
freedom;  (3)  economic  and  ethical  freedom.  See  Principles  of 
Sociology,  p.  300. 


30  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

the  same  methods  that  are  used  by  the  modern  social 
reformer.  He  aroused  public  opinion  by  appealing 
to  the  loftier  motives  of  the  people.  In  an  age  when 
the  world  was  ruled  by  primitive  force,  Samuel 
taught  his  people  that  spiritual  power  was  more 
effective  than  martial  strength,  and  he  sought  to 
substitute  the  former  for  the  latter.  He  did  not 
completely  accomplish  his  task  for  the  principle  was 
too  new  in  the  world,  but  his  people  never  entirely 
lost  sight  of  it,  and  when  the  political  kingdom  that 
he  established  had  passed  away,  the  Hebrews  were 
still  able  to  make  effective  use  of  the  spiritual  doc- 
trine that  he  had  taught.  After  all,  this  spiritual 
power  has  made  the  Hebrews  the  reigning  people  of 
the  earth. 

Samuel  may  be  said  to  have  been  a  typical  prophet 
of  Israel.  As  a  preacher  of  righteousness,  he  de- 
nounced the  superstitions  of  the  age,  and  exalted  the 
name  of  Jehovah;  as  a  moral  leader,  he  taught  and 
exemplified  the  highest  ideals  of  right  living;  as  a 
social  reformer,  he  read  accurately  the  signs  of  the 
times,  and  with  sane  judgment  sought  to  better  the 
conditions  of  his  people.  It  is  not  strange  that  at 
his  death  such  a  man  should  be  mourned  by  the  na- 
tion as  if  it  had  been  left  fatherless,  for  he  had  made 
large  contributions  to  the  progress  and  well-being 
of  his  people.  In  the  pages  that  follow  we  shall 
trace  the  life  history  and  the  social  contributions  of 
other  great  prophets,  but  none  of  these  will  show 
greater  devotion  to  the  social  welfare,  or  accomplish 
more  for  the  common  good,  than  Samuel,  the 
Prophet  of  Ramah. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  31 

TOPICS  FOR   REPORTS  AND  INVESTIGATION 

1.  The  Work  of  Samuel  as  Prophet  in  Contrast  with 
his  Work  as  Judge. 

2.  The  Strength  and  Weakness  of  Saul. 

3.  Samuel's  Contribution  to  the  Religion  of  the  He- 
brews. 

4.  A  Study  of  the  Methods  of  Samuel  in  his  Public 
Ministry. 

5.  Foreign  Influences  on  the  Destiny  of  Israel  during 
the  Age  of  Samuel. 

FURTHER  READINGS 

Chamberlain's  "  The  Hebrew  Prophets,"  pp.  8-26 ; 
Willett's  "  The  Moral  Leaders  of  Israel,"  Part  One,  pp. 
33-46 ;  Deane's  "  Samuel  and  Saul,  their  Lives  and 
Times";  Wade's  "Old  Testament  History";  Kent's 
"History  of  the  Hebrew  People";  articles  on  Samuel 
and  Saul  in  Bible  dictionaries  and  encyclopedias. 


CHAPTER  III 
SUCCESSORS  TO  THE  PROPHET  SAMUEL 

The  number  of  names  that  have  come  down  to  us, 
in  connection  with  Jewish  prophecy,  is  strangely 
small.  The  names  of  a  few  scattering  prophets  ap- 
pear before  the  eighth  century,  and  in  the  three  or 
four  centuries  that  follow  we  have  the  names  of 
eight  or  nine.1  The  student  is  likely  to  regard  the 
Jewish  prophet  as  an  isolated  phenomenon.  But  a 
careful  study  of  the  fragmentary  record  that  has 
come  down  to  us  is  sufficient  to  convince  the  discern- 
ing student  that  prophets  were  numerous  in  the  years 
that  intervened  between  the  age  of  Samuel  and  the 
beginning  of  the  exile.  The  term  "  prophet  "  was 
applied  to  hundreds  in  those  days,  and  due  recogni- 
tion was  given  to  them  as  a  separate  class  in  He- 
brew society.  Those  who  have  had  the  honor  to  be 
so  named  in  the  Scriptures  are  merely  unusual  types 
whose  surpassing  personality,  or  relation  to  some 
unusual  event  of  history,  have  marked  them  for  spe- 
cial mention.  To  call  attention  to  some  of  those 
whose  names  appear  here  and  there  in  the  sacred 

i  Daniel  is  not  included  in  the  list  of  prophets  here  studied. 
The  Book  of  Daniel  does  not  find  a  place  among  the  prophets 
in  the  Jewish  Canon.  The  material  is  more  appropriately 
classed  as  apocalytic  rather  than  prophetic  literature.  The 
author  of  the  Book  of  Daniel  does  not  seem  to  regard  himself 
as  a  prophet 

32 


THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  33 

record  is  the  purpose  of  the  present  study.  An  ex- 
planatory word  as  to  how  the  prophet's  office  devel- 
oped under  Jewish  influence  will  help  to  explain  the 
commanding  position  of  the  Jewish  prophet. 

TYPES  OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHET 

The  Jewish  prophet  seems  to  have  been  an  evolu- 
tion. In  the  process  of  development  three  rather 
distinct  types  seem  to  appear,  each  in  succession 
representing  a  higher  order  of  intelligence,  and  exer- 
cising a  correspondingly  larger  influence. 

(1)  In  the  first  type  we  have  the  fortune  tellers 
or  superstitious  diviners.  These  individuals  gained 
their  reputation  for  wisdom  and  foresight  through 
certain  rites  that  they  performed,  or  mediums  that 
they  used  to  reveal  the  divine  will  and  purpose.  We 
get  a  glimpse  of  this  type  in  the  early  writings  of 
sacred  scripture.  We  are  told  that  Joseph  was  a 
diviner  and  that  the  movements  of  water  in  a  cup  was 
the  medium  used.2  Responses  were  also  sought  by 
means  of  colors  in  sacred  stones.  Saul,  having  been 
denied  the  knowledge  of  the  future  outcome  of  his 
conflict  with  the  Philistines,  sought  the  result  by  ob- 
serving the  colors  in  the  sacred  stone  Urim,  which 
was  often  used  at  that  time  for  such  purposes.  The 
casting  of  lots  3  was  a  common  method  of  ascertain- 
ing the  divine  will.  The  Hebrews  shared  with  the 
Assyrian  and  other  nations  the  belief  that  dreams 
and  oracles  were  means  of  conveying  to  men  the  di- 
vine will.  The  seer  and  prophet  first  came  into  pub- 
lic notice  through  the  belief  that  they  had  the  power, 
through  these  various  agencies,  to  foretell  the  future. 

2  Gen.  44:  5.  3  I  Sam.  14:  41,  42. 


S4f  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

They  were  consulted  when  articles  were  lost  or  do- 
mestic animals  strayed  away,  and  the  seer  was  re- 
warded for  the  information  he  gave.4  We  get  a  bet- 
ter example  of  the  influence  of  the  prophet  as  a  di- 
viner of  the  future  in  the  case  of  Ahab  summoning 
the  prophet  to  inquire  of  him  the  result  of  his  pro- 
posed expedition  against  Ramoth-Gilead.5 

(£)  The  second  type  of  prophet  was  the  emo- 
tional or  ecstatic  type.  They  resorted  to  the  influ- 
ence of  crude  music,  bodily  distortions,  and  loud  and 
boisterous  exclamations,  instead  of  mysterious  medi- 
ums or  other  forms  of  symbolism.  They  made  use 
of  the  simple  musical  instruments  of  their  age,  and 
roamed  about  in  bands,  playing  and  attracting  at- 
tention by  their  peculiar  gesticulations.  These  rov- 
ing bands  may  have  marked  the  beginning  of  what 
later  became  the  schools  of  the  prophets.  They 
seem  to  have  sought  to  influence  the  people  by  play- 
ing and  dancing  until  they  had  worked  themselves 
into  a  frenzy,  and  in  the  end  they  would  become  com- 
pletely exhausted  and  limp  with  over-exertion. 
These  strange  proceedings  seem  to  have  had  a  rather 
remarkable  influence  on  the  people.  For  instance, 
Saul,  when  he  met  one  of  these  bands  of  wandering 
prophets,  was  drawn  irresistibly  into  their  perform- 
ances, and,  to  the  surprise  of  all,  joined  in  their  wild 
and  frenzied  dance.6  The  real  nature  of  the  per- 
formances of  these  prophets  is  best  described  in  the 
account  of  the  prophets  of  Baal  at  Mt.  Carmel.7 
But  gradually  the  people  began  to  lose  faith  in  these 
prophets,  and  they  came  to  be  regarded  almost  as 

*I  Sam.  9:  3-8.  «I  Sam.  10:  5-12. 

5  I  Kings  22:  5,  6.  7  I  Kings  18:  26-29. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  35 

mad  men,8  and  as  unworthy  of  leadership  or  popular 
approval  as  a  religious  order. 

(S)  The  third  type  seems  to  have  been  merely  a 
higher  stage  of  the  second.  Gradually  the  ecstatic 
type  gave  up  their  roving,  mendicant  life,  and  gath- 
ered in  important  centers  like  Ramah,  Bethel,  and 
Jericho.  Gradually,  too,  these  unlettered  and  emo- 
tional bands  were  transformed  into  intelligent  men 
with  a  fair  degree  of  insight  into  the  political,  ethi- 
cal, and  religious  needs  and  conditons  of  the  times. 
Of  course,  they  did  not  take  rank  with  such  prophets 
and  teachers  as  Moses  or  Samuel,  their  contempo- 
raries, but  they  were  able  to  perform  many  of  the 
duties  of  moral  and  religious  instruction,  and  their 
influence  must  have  been  widely  felt  during  the  cen- 
tury or  two  that  preceded  the  beginning  of  the  work 
of  the  writing  prophets.  The  centers  where  these 
prophets  made  their  headquarters  gained  fame  for 
their  intelligence  and  culture,  and  gradually  became 
seminaries  of  religious  instruction,  which  soon  took 
the  name  of  "  the  schools  of  the  prophets."  Sam- 
uel has  been  credited  with  having  organized  the 
schools  of  the  prophets,  and  defined  their  relations 
to  the  nation  and  to  society.9  He  taught  that  the 
members  of  the  prophetic  order  were  not  to  lead 
ascetic  lives,  but  they  were,  on  the  other  hand,  to  con- 
cern themselves  with  the  various  problems  that  con- 
fronted the  nation  and  the  national  faith.  The  con- 
tribution of  these  early  orders  of  prophets  to  social 
policy  and  religious  ideals  must  have  been  consider- 
able, and  the  Bible  student  must  feel  a  pang  of  disap- 
pointment to  find  that  we  are  denied  the  privilege  of 

s  II  Kings  9:  11.  »I  Sara.  10:  9,  10. 


36  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

knowing  more  about  the  organization  and  work  of 
these  early  prophetical  societies. 

What  is  the  relation  of  the  writing  prophets  to 
these  early  bands  of  prophetic  orders  ?  We  may  an- 
swer by  saying  that  they  were  merely  unusual  types 
of  their  class.  Amos,  Hosea,  and  Micah  merely  rise 
above  their  contemporaries  because  of  their  unusual 
ability  to  discern  the  real  conditons  of  their  respec- 
tive times  and  to  attack  the  social  and  religious  er- 
rors of  the  people  with  more  definite  and  effective  re- 
sults. These  early  prophets  must  have  differed 
widely  in  their  talents  and  abilities  and  also  in  their 
moral  and  spiritual  capabilities.  This  fact  accounts 
for  the  obscurity  of  most  of  these  prophets,  and  the 
world-wide  fame  of  others.  Between  these  extremes, 
we  find,  here  and  there  a  prophet  whose  name  has 
come  down  to  us  as  a  representative  of  those  who 
rose  above  the  masses,  but  whose  achievements  did 
not  entitle  him  to  a  large  or  commanding  place  in  the 
biblical  record.  But  some  of  these  deserve  mention 
as  successors  to  Samuel,  and  as  links  in  the  continu- 
ous chain  of  Jewish  prophecy. 

NATHAN    THE    PROPHET 

Nathan  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  logical  successor 
to  Samuel  as  prophet-statesman  of  Israel.  His  re- 
lations to  the  king  were  very  similar  to  those  of  Sam- 
uel to  Saul.  He  seemed  to  have  regarded  his  work 
as  that  of  chief  adviser  to  King  David,  and  David 
gave  great  heed  to  the  advice  and  counsel  of  the 
prophet  Nathan.  His  influence  made  him  the  most 
commanding  figure  at  David's  court,  and  it  is  easy 
to  judge  of  the  king's  estimate  of  this  prophet  by  the 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  37 

absolute  manner  in  which  he  accepted  his  rebukes. 

Nathan  first  appears  in  connection  with  the  gen- 
erous plans  of  David  to  build  a  temple  in  which  to 
shelter  the  ark  of  the  Lord.  The  king's  motive  was 
so  unselfish  10  and  the  undertaking  so  laudable  that, 
it  seems,  Nathan  approved  the  plan.  At  a  later  date, 
however,  before  David  had  time  to  begin  the  actual 
work,  Nathan  reconsidered  and  advised  David  to 
postpone  the  project  indefinitely.  It  seems  that  the 
prophet's  reconsideration  was  based  on  the  belief 
that  David  was  not  quite  the  right  person  to  build 
the  temple  for  the  Lord  because  he  had  been  a  man 
of  war.  The  real  motive,  however,  was  doubtless 
more  significant  than  the  apparent  one  assigned  by 
the  prophet.  Nathan  doubtless  feared  what  many 
later  prophets  experienced  —  that  to  centralize  wor- 
ship and  to  enrich  the  liturgical  form  would  decrease 
its  effectiveness  and  its  vitality.  For  these  deeper 
reasons  he  thought  best  to  postpone  the  enterprise 
until  the  nation  was  better  organized  and  the  na- 
tional faith  better  established.  But,  on  advising  the 
postponement,  he  gave  to  David  the  promise  that  his 
seed  should  be  established  in  Israel  and  that  his  suc- 
cessor should  carry  out  his  worthy  project. 

Nathan's  most  important  work  was  in  the  lofty 
ideals  of  social  justice  and  personal  morality  that  he 
attempted  to  impress  upon  David  and  the  people  of 
Israel.  The  incident  that  furnished  the  opportunity 
grew  out  of  the  seizing  of  the  wife  of  one  of  his  of- 
ficers by  David  and  the  taking  of  her  into  his  own 
harem.  This  act  was  fearlessly  denounced  by  Na- 
than. So  forcibly  did  Nathan  present  the  injustice 
10  II  Sam.  7:  2. 


38  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

of  such  a  deed  to  David  that  the  king  was  greatly 
moved  and  humiliated.  The  parable  ll  used  by  the 
prophet  to  impress  the  king,  and  the  profound  im- 
pression that  it  made,  furnishes  us  with  one  of  the 
most  interesting  social  incidents  in  the  history  of 
Jewish  prophecy. 

But  in  the  interpretation  of  this  incident  the  Bible 
student  must  be  careful  not  to  give  the  wrong  mean- 
ing to  the  emphasis  in  the  prophet's  rebuke.  The 
aspect  of  the  offence  of  David  that  appealed  to  Na- 
than was  not  that  of  personal  immorality,  but  that 
of  social  injustice.  This  is  easily  seen  from  the  par- 
able that  was  used  by  the  prophet.  The  question  of 
personal  immorality  had  not  yet  developed  in  Jewish 
consciousness,  and  it  was  not  destined  to  develop  to 
any  great  extent  until  the  days  of  the  writing 
prophets.  It  is  a  fact  of  great  interest  and  im- 
portance that  we  find  thus  early  such  a  clear  concep- 
tion of  social  justice,  especially  between  a  king  and 
his  subjects.  This  bare  incident  is  sufficient  to 
justify  us  in  numbering  Nathan  among  the  impor- 
tant social  prophets  of  Israel. 

Nathan  appears  for  the  last  time  in  connection 
with  the  crowning  of  Solomon  as  king  of  Israel.12 
In  this  capacity  we  also  see  his  marked  influence  on 
the  destiny  of  his  people.  His  relations  to  the  king 
were  very  similar,  at  every  point,  to  those  of  Samuel 
and  his  great  predecessor.  Both  were  largely  re- 
sponsible for  national  policy  because  of  their  com- 
manding influence  and  their  intimate  relations  with 
the  rulers  of  the  nation.  We  shall  see  that  their  suc- 
cessors attempted  at  times  to  shape  the  national  poli- 

11 II  Sam.  12:  1-15.  12  II  Sam.  12:  1-4. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  39 

cies  as  well  as  to  direct  the  social  and  moral  con- 
sciousness of  the  people. 

THE    PROPHET    GAD 

Gad,13  like  Nathan,  was  one  of  the  chief  advisers  of 
David.  Professor  Bennett  calls  these  two  prophets 
"  the  domestic  chaplains  and  spiritual  advisers  of 
David."  It  was  the  mission  of  Gad  to  reveal  to 
David  the  displeasure  of  the  Lord  because  of  his  sin- 
ful pride  in  taking  the  census  of  Israel,  and  to  reveal 
unto  the  king  the  three  choices  of  punishment,  one  of 
which  he  was  required  to  accept.14  When  David  had 
thoroughly  repented,  Gad  again  came  to  him  and  di- 
rected that  he  build  an  altar  on  the  threshing  floor 
at  Oman ;  15  which  he  did,  and  by  his  penitent  wor- 
ship stayed  the  calamity  that  had  befallen  the  land 
because  of  his  sin.  In  connection  with  Nathan,  Gad 
seems  to  have  had  an  important  part  in  the  formula- 
tion of  the  tabernacle  service  under  the  general  ap- 
proval of  David.16 

THE    PROPHET    ABIJAH 

Prophecy  was  silent  in  Israel  after  the  disappear- 
ance of  Nathan  and  Gad  until  the  reign  of  David  had 
ended  and  Solomon,  his  son,  had  been  firmly  seated 
upon  the  throne.  When  Solomon  began  to  manifest 
his  despotic  power  and  tyranny  over  his  subjects, 
there  appeared  another  prophet  in  Israel  to  offer 

is  Gad  is  usually  referred  to  as  a  "  seer "  ("  roeh ")  rather 
than  prophet  ("Nabi").  The  words  are  practically  synony- 
mous, but  the  word  "seer"  seems  to  have  been  the  more 
ancient  word.  According  to  strict  etymology  there  was  a 
difference  in  meaning  between  the  words,  brut  this  distinction 
was  lost  through  common  usage. 

i*  I  Kings  1 :  38.      ™  II  Sam.  24: 10-25.       ie  II  Chron.  29:  25. 


40  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

counsel  and  aid  to  the  oppressed  and  downtrodden 
people  of  Israel.  This  prophet  was  Abijah  of  Shi- 
loah.  The  king,  surrounded  by  his  servile  guards 
and  a  brilliant  court,  felt  too  exalted  to  listen  to  the 
advice  or  complaints  of  men  of  lowly  estate.  The 
priests,  as  we  shall  often  find,  seem  to  have  been 
robbed  of  their  real  power  and  mission  by  the  royal 
seductions  of  a  court  of  flattery.  In  this  crisis, 
Abijah  appeared,  with  the  work  of  Samuel  as  a 
precedent,  to  thwart  injustice  and  to  re-establish 
social  order  on  a  new  basis. 

Abijah  selected  Jereboam,  a  brave  and  ambitious 
youth  of  Ephraim,  whom  he  encouraged  to  rebel 
against  Solomon.  The  prophet  used  great  tact  and 
dramatic  skill  in  notifying  the  youth  of  his  selec- 
tion as  the  successor  of  Solomon.  It  seems  that  the 
prophet  waited  until  Jereboam  had  gone  out  of  the 
city  into  the  country,  perhaps  on  his  way  to  visit  his 
widowed  mother.  Abijah  made  it  a  point  to  meet 
Jereboam  on  the  road,  and  his  first  act,  which  was  de- 
signed as  an  impressive  symbol,  was  to  take  from  his 
own  shoulders  a  new  garment  that  he  had  provided 
for  the  purpose.  The  prophet  then  rent  the  gar- 
ment into  twelve  pieces,  handing  ten  of  these  pieces 
to  Jereboam  with  the  words :  "  Take  these  ten 
pieces ;  for  thus  saith  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel, 
Behold,  I  will  rend  the  kingdom  out  of  the  hand  of 
Solomon,  and  will  give  ten  tribes  to  thee."  17  These 
words  are  followed,  however,  with  words  of  assur- 
ance that  one  tribe  would  be  left  to  Solomon's  son, 
that  the  lamp  of  Jerusalem  might  not  be  extinguished 
and  that  the  seed  of  David  might  not  be  completely 

171  Kings  11:  31. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  41 

destroyed.  This  prophecy  was  literally  fulfilled 
when  Rehoboam,  Solomon's  only  son,  became  the 
king  of  Israel  and  the  ten  tribes  revolted  and  made 
Jereboam  their  king. 

Years  after  the  meeting  of  Jereboam  and  Abijah 
on  the  road  way,  and  after  the  northern  kingdom  had 
been  established,  Jereboam  revealed  his  faith  in  the 
old  prophet  when  the  king's  son  became  very  ill. 
The  queen  was  requested  to  go  in  disguise  to  Abijah 
and  seek  information  as  to  the  outcome  of  the  child's 
illness.  The  prophet  at  once  penetrated  the  queen's 
disguise,  and  beckoned  her  into  his  presence.  He 
sent  a  message  to  Jereboam  in  which  he  execrated 
him  for  not  keeping  the  commandments  of  Jehovah, 
and  in  closing  he  predicted  that  the  child  would  die. 
With  the  deliverance  of  the  message  and  the  fulfill- 
ment of  his  prophecy,  the  name  of  Abijah  disappears 
from  the  historic  record.  Among  the  early  suc- 
cessors of  Samuel  he  is  next  in  importance  to  Nathan 
in  his  social  and  moral  influence.  Abijah  was  in  the 
best  sense  a  social  reformer.  The  two  great  events 
recorded  of  him  are  connected  with  social  and  po- 
litical reform.  To  relieve  oppression  and  injustice, 
when  all  else  had  failed,  he  appeared  as  the  advocate 
of  a  divided  kingdom.  When  the  new  kingdom  had 
been  established,  and  its  ruler  had  forsaken  the  prin- 
ciples that  furnished  the  justification  for  it,  he  lifted 
his  voice  in  rebuke,  foretelling  the  afflictions  that  were 
to  come  upon  the  disobedient  king. 

THE    PROPHET    SHEMAIAH 

Reverting  to  the  history  of  the  southern  kingdom 
of  Judah,  we  find  Rehoboam  after  his  elevation  to  the 


42  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

throne  of  Israel  ready  to  attempt  to  recover  the  lost 
part  of  Solomon's  kingdom.  He  assembled  a  large 
army  from  the  tribes  of  Judah  and  Benjamin,  and 
when  the  king  was  about  ready  to  invade  Israel,  the 
prophet  Shemaiah  18  appeared  to  thwart  the  plans 
of  Rehoboam.  The  prophet  speaks  as  one  with  au- 
thority. "  Ye  shall  not  go  up,  nor  fight  against 
your  brethren,  the  children  of  Israel;  return  every 
man  to  his  house ;  for  this  thing  is  from  me." 
The  effect  of  the  words  of  the  prophet  was  remark- 
able. The  expedition  was  abandoned,  and  the  great 
army  was  dispersed.  No  event  of  early  Jewish  his- 
tory reveals  so  clearly  the  commanding  importance 
of  the  Jewish  prophet.  To  set  aside  the  ambition 
of  Rehoboam,  and  to  set  at  naught  all  the  plans  of 
a  great  army  of  soldiery,  involved  boldness  and  cour- 
age. The  attempt  to  invade  Israel  was  not  again 
renewed  during  the  reign  of  Rehoboam. 

The  abandonment  of  military  ambition  enabled  Re- 
hoboam to  direct  his  endeavors  to  the  material  de- 
velopment of  his  kingdom.  Great  prosperity  came 
to  him,  but  we  are  told  that  in  the  hour  of  his  pros- 
perity he  forsook  the  law  of  the  Lord,  and  to  humble 
him  Shishak,  king  of  Egypt,  invaded  Judah  with  a 
large  army,  and  the  king  was  in  great  fear  and  dis- 
tress. At  this  juncture  Shemaiah  again  appeared, 
and  declared  that  the  invasion  by  a  foreign  foe  was 
Jehovah's  punishment  for  his  sin  and  the  sins  of  the 
princes  of  Judah.  They  at  once  humbled  them- 
selves, and  Jehovah  accepted  their  penitence.  She- 

i8  This  prophet  is  not  to  be  confused  with  two  false  prophets 
of  the  same  name  and  referred  to  in  Neh.  6:  10-14,  and  Jer. 
29:  24-32. 

i»I  Kings  12:  24. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  43 

maiah  was  told  to  convey  this  message  of  deliverance, 
and  at  the  same  time  he  was  directed  to  inform  the 
rulers  of  his  people  that  they  should  serve  Shishak, 
"  that  they  [the  Jews]  may  know  My  service  and  the 
service  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  countries."  20  With 
this  public  service  the  prophet  Shemaiah  disappears 
from  the  pages  of  history. 

The  three  prophets,  Nathan,  Gad  and  Abijah, 
represent  the  most  important  prophetic  successors 
to  Samuel,  and  they  seem  to  have  been  inspired  by  his 
example  to  follow  his  policies  and  to  adopt  his 
methods.  As  we  have  seen,  each  in  turn  influenced 
kings,  and  directed  their  policies  at  critical  times. 
They  dignified  and  gave  importance  to  the  work  of 
prophecy.  Their  patriotism  caused  them  also  to 
become  the  annalists  and  historians  of  the  nation. 
Their  farsightedness  entitled  them  to  be  classed  as 
statesmen  and  their  earnestness  and  honesty  made 
them  the  moral  leaders  of  Israel.  The  work  of  these 
prophets  made  possible  the  ascendency  of  prophecy 
under  their  immediate  successors,  whose  work  will  be 
described  in  the  next  chapter. 

TOPICS  FOR  REPORTS  AND  INVESTIGATION 

1.  The  Function  of  the  Prophet  as  Revealed  in  the 
Study  of  Samuel's  Successors. 

2.  Justification  of  Abijah  in  Encouraging  the  Division 
of  the  Jewish  nation. 

3.  Relations  of  Egypt  and  Israel  during  this  Period. 

4.  The  Influence  of  the  Prophet  on  the  Rise  of  the 
Monarchy  in  Israel. 

5.  The  Social  Ideals  of  Samuel's  Successors. 

20  II  Chron.  2:  8. 


44  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS 

FURTHER  READINGS 

Article  on  "  Prophetic  Office  in  the  Old  Testament " 
in  the  Schaff-Herzog  "  Encyclopedia  of  Religious 
Knowledge/'  Vol.  Ill,  p.  1936;  Bennett's  "First  and 
Second  Chronicles"  ("Expositor's  Bible"),  Chap.  9, 
pp.  241-269  on  "The  Prophets";  Edersheim's  "His- 
tory of  Israel  and  Judah,"  Vol.  V;  articles  on  Nathan, 
Gad,  Abijah,  and  Shemaiah  in  Bible  dictionaries  and  en- 
cyclopedias. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  ASCENDENCY  OF  PROPHECY 

The  sudden  and  dramatic  appearance  of  Elijah 
before  King  Ahab,  and  his  remarkable  deliverance, 
marks  the  beginning  of  the  real  ascendency  of  Jew- 
ish prophecy.  The  importance  of  Elijah's  mission, 
and  his  peculiar  fitness  to  fulfill  it,  raises  him  and 
the  order  which  he  represented  to  a  place  of  com- 
manding importance.  His  contribution  to  social  re- 
form, and  his  defense  of  the  religion  of  Jehovah,  in- 
creased the  importance  of  the  office  of  prophet,  and 
his  call  of  Elisha  as  his  successor  gave  stability  and 
permanence  to  the  prophetic  office.  These  are  some 
of  the  reasons  why  we  usually  think  of  prophecy  as 
having  begun  with  Elijah. 

HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND 

Ahab,  whose  reign  began  in  875  B.  c.,  was  the 
fifth  successor  of  Jereboam  the  first  king  of  Israel. 
Jereboam  reigned  for  more  than  twenty  years,  but 
his  immediate  successors  had  short  reigns,  and  each 
was  characterized  by  intrigue  and  bloodshed.  Na- 
dab,  the  son  of  Jereboam,  succeeded  his  father  on  the 
throne,  but  was  soon  deposed  by  Baasha,  who  had  no 
claim  whatever  to  the  throne  as  a  royal  successor. 
He  was  shortly  succeeded  by  his  son  Elah,  who  was 
soon  murdered  by  his  servant  Zimri,  who  was  in  turn 
driven  from  the  throne  by  Omri,  the  head  of  the 

45 


46  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

army,  who,  after  a  brief  civil  war,  succeeded  in 
founding  a  new  dynasty.  His  son  was  Ahab,  who 
ruled  Israel  for  thirty-eight  years. 

Prophecy  is  almost  silent  during  all  these  political 
changes  and  upheavals.  In  the  reign  of  Baasha, 
which  was  the  longest  of  the  immediate  predecessors 
of  Jereboam,  we  learn  of  the  appearance  of  the 
prophet  Jehu,  the  son  of  Hanani.  It  appears  from 
his  prophecy  that  Baasha  had  been  favored  by  the 
prophets  against  the  rule  of  Jereboam,  but  that  he 
had  lost  their  support  and  confidence  because  he 
"  had  walked  in  the  way  of  Jereboam,  and  had  made 
my  people  Israel  to  sin."  *  We  naturally  ask : 
"  Why  did  the  prophets  turn  against  Jereboam, 
when  he  had  been  selected  by  Abij  ah  as  the  appropri- 
ate man  to  establish  the  new  kingdom  of  Israel  ?  " 
The  answer  is  probably  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that 
Jereboam  displayed  great  unfriendliness  towards  the 
prophets  when  he  had  once  been  securely  seated  upon 
the  throne  of  the  northern  kingdom.  The  prophets 
not  only  turned  against  Jereboam,  but  they  also 
turned  against  his  son,  and  in  condemning  him  they 
felt  that  the  worst  that  could  be  said  was  that  "  he 
walked  in  the  way  of  his  father."  2  With  these  ex- 
ceptions, the  prophets  during  this  period  do  not 
seem  to  have  been  very  active  or  very  influential. 

But,  unconsciously,  there  were  growing  up  two 
hostile  and  irreconcilable  policies  in  the  nation. 
There  was  an  increasing  desire  to  establish  trade  re- 
lations with  neighboring  nations,  and  the  advocates 
of  this  policy  realized  that  this  could  not  be  accom- 

il  Kings  16:  2.  2  I  Kings  15:  26. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  47 

plished  without  first  establishing  closer  social  and 
religious  relations.  Ahab,  who  favored  the  exten- 
sion of  international  trade,  was  willing  to  comply 
with  all  demands  necessary  for  the  accomplishment 
of  this  result.  To  this  end,  he  married  Jezebel,  a 
Phoenician  princess,  and  freely  admitted  to  Israel 
the  prophets  of  Baal  (Baalim)  and  Astarte.3 

Against  this  policy  of  the  court  was  the  intense 
opposition  of  the  prophets  of  Israel,  and  especially 
of  Elijah,  who  suddenly  emerges  as  the  leader  of  the 
prophetic  forces.  The  issue  was  distinctly  defined 
by  the  prophet,  and  the  contending  forces  clearly  re- 
vealed. The  nation  was  first  to  manifest  complete 
loyalty  to  its  God,  and  fidelity  to  her  own  social  in- 
stitutions, before  being  trusted  in  the  field  of  inter- 
national trade  relations.  At  this  time  safety  lay  in 
national  seclusion.  The  issue  was  clearly  one  of  re- 
ligious idealism  contending  against  political  commer- 
cialism. The  ascendency  of  Elijah  was  the  result  of 
this  issue,  for 

"  Not  in  their  brightness,  but  their  earthly  stains, 
Are  the  true  saints  vouchsafed  to  human  eyes. 
Sin  can  read  sin,  but  dimly  scans  high  grace, 
So  we  move  heavenward  with  averted  face, 
Scared  into  faith  by  warning  of  sins'  pains; 
And  saints  are  lowered  that  the  world  may  rise."  4 

SKETCH  OF  ELIJAH 

Truly  Elijah  is  an  example  of  a  saint  who  was 

"  lowered "    that   the   world   might    rise.     Xrittle   is 

known  of  his  parentage  except  that  he  was  born  in  a 

certain  locality  called  Tishbe,  believed  to  have  been  in 

3  I  Kings  16:  31,  32;  18:  19.  *  Newman. 


48  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

the  northern  section  of  the  country.  But  it  seems 
that  he  lived  for  a  time  in  Gilead,  which  is  east  of  the 
Jordan.  While  the  facts  connected  with  his  earlier 
life  are  scant,  the  public  career  of  no  other  prophet 
has  received  such  an  extended  account.  Much  of  the 
narrative  of  the  books  of  Kings  is  devoted  to  the 
spectacular  life  of  this  prophet,  and  of  Elisha,  his 
successor. 

Many  of  the  incidents  in  the  life  of  Elijah  fall 
outside  of  a  sociological  point  of  view.  His  sudden 
appearance  before  Ahab,  and  his  prophecy  of  a 
three  years'  drought  in  Israel,  followed  by  his  flight 
and  experiences,  his  miracles,  and  his  contest  at  Car- 
mel,  are  in  the  main  incidents  connected  with  the 
prophet's  struggle  to  restore  the  true  faith,  and  to 
destroy  the  false  worship  of  heathen  gods.  Elijah 
saw  the  insidious  influences  that  would  result  to  Is- 
rael if  her  religious  barriers  were  destroyed.  The 
worship  of  Baal  implied  the  spread  and  popular  ac- 
ceptance of  foreign  luxury  and  immorality.  His 
task  was  that  of  safeguarding  the  virtues  of  his  peo- 
ple. The  incidents  recorded  about  him  are  mere 
illustrations  of  his  earnestness  and  fidelity  in  at- 
tempting to  avoid  the  calamity  that  he  saw  awaited 
his  people  if  they  adopted  the  policy  of  Ahab  and 
his  court. 

SOCIAL  GLIMPSES 

While  these  recorded  incidents  in  the  life  of  Elijah 
imply  that  his  conclusions  and  policies  were  deter- 
mined by  social  considerations,  there  are  three  inci- 
dents that  directly  reveal  him  as  a  defender  of  popu- 
lar rights  and  the  sympathetic  friend  of  the  poor. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS          49 

(1)  The  first  incident  is  that  connected  with  the 
unjust  treatment  accorded  Naboth,  the  farmer  of 
Jezreel.  The  king  sought  to  enlarge  his  grounds  at 
his  summer  capital,  and  in  order  to  be  able  to  do  so 
it  was  necessary  to  buy  the  vineyard  owned  by  Na- 
both. The  king  offered  a  reasonable  price,  but  Na- 
both, for  sentimental  reasons,  (it  being  his  ancestral 
estate),  felt  that  he  could  not  part  with  it,  and  he 
refused  the  offer  of  Ahab. 

The  king,  realizing  that  there  was  no  law  to  compel 
Naboth  to  sell,  and  fearing  openly  to  dispossess  the 
owner  without  lawful  authority,  returned  to  his  pal- 
ace in  disappointment,  for,  accustomed  to  having  his 
way,  like  a  spoiled  child  he  could  not  conceal  his 
displeasure.  Queen  Jezebel  was  quick  to  discern  the 
king's  dejection  and  promptly  ascertained  the  cause. 
Being  more  resourceful  than  her  husband,  and  anx- 
ious to  vindicate  the  supremacy  of  the  royal  will, 
Jezebel  immediately  set  about  the  task  of  securing 
the  coveted  property  by  foul  and  impious  means. 
She  secured  the  arrest  of  Naboth  on  the  charge  of 
impiety  and  disloyalty.  With  her  own  servants  as 
witnesses,  it  was  easy  to  secure  the  conviction  of 
Naboth,  and  a  corrupt  court  decreed  death  as  the 
penalty.  The  verdict  was  speedily  carried  into  exe- 
cution, and  Ahab  came  into  possession  of  the  prop- 
erty, which  by  the  process  of  law  now  reverted  to 
the  crown. 

Up  to  this  point  the  process  seemed  easy,  but 
Ahab  had  Elijah  to  reckon  with  at  an  unexpected 
moment.  Before  the  king  had  ceased  exulting  over 
his  coveted  possession,  Elijah  appeared  before  him, 
and  with  deep  indignation  at  the  king's  approval  of 


50  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

the  wicked  methods  of  his  queen,  pronounced  judg- 
ment upon  him  and  his  dynasty,  and  denounced  him 
in  the  severest  terms.  Elijah  even  declared  that 
judgment  would  be  literally  meted  out  to  him,  saying 
that  Ahab's  own  blood  should  be  shed  on  the  exact 
spot  where  Naboth  had  been  slain.5 

Elijah  here  typifies  the  true  reformer  who  is 
jealous  to  maintain  the  principles  of  social  justice 
and  popular  rights.  We  must  marvel  at  the  keen 
sense  of  appreciation  for  the  social  and  legal  rela- 
tions that  should  exist  between  men  that  Elij  ah  mani- 
fested, for  we  find  him  judging  Ahab  almost  a  thou- 
sand years  before  the  Christian  era  by  standards 
that  would  reflect  credit  upon  the  best  men  of  our 
own  generation. 

A  consequence  of  the  incident  of  Naboth  has  been 
suggested  by  Mr.  Louis  Wallis.6  He  suggests  that 
the  principles  of  the  Rechabites  7  may  be  traceable 
to  this  incident.  "  The  most  characteristic  thing 
about  these  people  was  their  avoidance  of  private 
property  in  land.  They  would  do  nothing  which  im- 
plied ownership  in  the  soil.  They  planted  no  seed, 
because  the  sowing  of  seed  would  make  it  necessary 
to  possess  fields;  they  drank  no  wine,  because  the 
raising  of  grapes  would  make  it  necessary  to  own 
vineyards.  Perhaps  it  was  the  seizing  of  Naboth's 
vineyard  by  Ahab  that  suggested  their  avoidance  of 
land  property.  They  may,  have  reasoned  that  the 
private  holding  of  land  was  at  the  root  of  all  evil. 
By  this  token,  if  you  have  no  land,  the  kings  and 

5  I  Kings  21 :  19. 

6  "  Sociological  Study  of  the  Bible"  (1912),  pp.  180,  181. 
7Jer.  35:  2-9.     See  also   article   on   "Rechabites"  in   Bible 

Dictionaries. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  51 

nobles  can  take  no  land  away  from  you."  While 
this  suggestion  of  Wallis'  is  interesting,  of  course, 
it  contains  an  element  of  speculation.  But  a  more 
certain  consequence  of  the  dispossession  of  Naboth 
is  that  it  made  property  rights  insecure,  and  it  was 
against  this  that  the  prophet  protested,  as  well  as 
against  the  act  of  inhumanity  connected  with  it. 
It  is  a  significant  fact  that  Elijah  pronounced  the 
doom  of  Ahab  as  a  result  of  the  manner  of  his  gain- 
ing possession  of  Naboth's  vineyard  rather  than  in 
connection  with  the  fostering  of  Baal-worship. 

(£)  Another  sidelight  is  thrown  on  the  social  con- 
ceptions of  Elijah  in  connection  with  his  visit  to  the 
widow  of  Zarepath.8  For  some  reason  the  Lord  saw 
fit  to  direct  Elijah  to  go  to  Zarepath,  a  Sidonian 
city  of  Phoenicia.  Why  he  should  be  sent  into  the 
midst  of  these  Baal-worshipers,  against  whom  he  was 
protesting^  was  doubtless  strange  to  the  prophet  of 
the  Lord.  We  are  told  that  he  had  already  learned 
"  dependence  upon  God  "  when  the  ravens  fed  him. 
He  was  now  to  learn  "  fellowship  with  him  "  by  shar- 
ing in  the  privations  of  the  unfortunate  classes  on 
a  plane  of  equality. 

The  long  journey  from  his  retreat  on  the  Jordan 
to  Zarepath  was  doubtless  made  at  great  peril  and 
privation.  His  arrival  found  him  hungry  and  ex- 
hausted. The  first  person  whom  he  saw  was  a  woman 
gathering  sticks,  and  he  asked  her  for  water.  Her 
willingness  to  minister  to  his  wants  encouraged  him 
to  ask  that  she  bring  him  a  morsel  of  bread  also. 
Her  answer  revealed  the  fact  that  she  was  herself 
in  extreme  want,  for  her  total  supply  of  food  con- 

81  Kings  17:  8-24. 


52  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

sisted  of  only  a  handful  of  meal  in  the  barrel,  and  a 
little  oil  in  the  cruse.9  The  prophet  also  learned 
that  she  had  become  despondent  and  was  now  ready 
to  die.  We  are  graphically  told  how  Elijah  came  to 
this  woman's  rescue,  and  miraculously  supplied  both 
meal  and  oil. 

Elijah  was  destined  to  face  yet  another  problem 
of  social  significance  in  connection  with  this  woman 
—  that  of  disease  and  death.  The  son  of  the  woman 
fell  sick,  and  at  last  died,  and  she  felt  that  Elijah 
in  some  mysterious  way  had  taken  the  life  of  her  son 
as  a  rebuke  for  her  sin.  The  manifestation  of  her 
grief  and  her  accusation  caused  the  prophet  to  ap- 
peal to  the  Lord  to  restore  the  child  to  life,  and  his 
prayer  was  answered. 

The  entire  incident  leads  us  to  see  that  among 
other  things  God  was  here  educating  Elijah.  His 
chief  concern  had  been  for  the  welfare  of  the  state ; 
he  was  here  to  learn  the  importance  of  individual 
needs.  In  his  concern  for  the  welfare  of  Israel  he 
had  come  to  despise  all  neighboring  peoples ;  he  was 
here  to  have  his  sympathies  broadened  through  an 
experience  which  taught  him  that  there  was  good  in 
other  people,  even  though  they  worshiped  false  gods 
and  knew  not  the  ways  of  the  Lord.  Elijah  was  here 
brought  to  think  of  the  individual  problems  of  pov- 
erty and  disease,  even  at  a  time  when  he  was  grap- 
pling with  the  problem  of  national  faith  and  civic 
righteousness.  A  man's  usefulness  is  often  deter- 
mined by  his  ability  to  keep  the  proper  social  per- 
spective, and  it  is  probable  that  this  was  the  need  of 
Elijah  at  this  period  of  his  life. 

9  I  Kings  17:  12. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  53 

(3)  The  call  of  Elisha  is  the  third  contribution 
of  Elijah  to  the  social  ideals  that  he  fostered.  The 
old  prophet  by  this  time  had  learned  many  impor- 
tant lessons  in  his  long  and  varied  career.  Ahab 
also  had  learned  that  his  national  policy  had  been 
based  upon  false  premises.  Instead  of  friendly  al- 
liances and  mutual  trade  relations,  had  come  dis- 
putes about  boundaries,  and  war  with  Syria.  Ben- 
hadad,  king  of  Syria,  had  even  invaded  Samaria,  and 
forced  the  payment  of  large  tribute  by  Ahab.  Only 
when  the  Syrian  king  threatened  the  sack  of  Samaria, 
the  capitol  city  itself,  did  Ahab  take  courage  to 
resist,  and  he  was  rewarded  with  victory  over  the  ene- 
mies, who  happened  to  be  in  a  drunken  orgy  at  the 
time  of  attack.  But  Ahab  had  about  reached  the 
end  of  his  career.  With  the  assistance  of  Jehosha- 
phat,  king  of  Judah,  he  invaded  Syria,  and,  in  the 
battle  of  Ramoth-Gilead,  was  pierced  by  a  random 
arrow,  and  died  within  a  few  hours.  Jehoram,  the 
son  of  Ahab,  succeeded  him  on  the  throne,  and  while 
he  was  far  from  being  a  righteous  ruler,  he  was  wise 
enough  to  reverse  the  foreign  policy  of  his  father.10 
Thus,  at  last,  Elijah  saw  his  paramount  desire  for 
Israel  accomplished.  He  was  now  ready  to  intrust 
the  moral  and  religious  leadership  to  another,  and 
he  was  wise  enough  to  see  that  his  successor  should 
possess  qualities  far  different  from  his  own,  in  this 
new  era  into  which  Israel  had  entered.  God  had 
taught  him  that  now  was  the  time  when  the  power  of 
the  still  small  voice  was  to  take  precedence  over  the 
earthquake  in  the  moral  and  social  conquest  of  Israel. 

For  this  new  leadership,  Elijah  selected  a  certain 

10  1 1  Kings  3:  2. 


54  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

farmer  of  Abel-meholah,  whom  he  found  ploughing 
in  the  field  near  his  home.  The  manner  of  Elisha's 
call  is  told  in  a  few  verses.11  Elijah  apprised  Elisha 
of  his  new  calling  by  casting  his  mantle  upon  him, 
and  Elisha  seemed  to  understand,  for  he  immediately 
asked  permission  to  bid  his  father  and  mother  good- 
bye, which  was  readily  granted  by  the  old  prophet. 
He  took  time  before  his  final  departure  to  prepare  a 
feast,  and  invite  his  friends  to  share  his  hospitality. 
When  these  duties  had  been  performed,  he  immedi- 
ately joined  Elijah. 

Elisha  came  to  his  work  as  the  representative  of 
the  highest  civilization  of  the  days  in  which  he  lived. 
His  devotion  to  his  ancestral  estate  had  given  him  a 
sense  of  permanent  attachment  for  the  simple  life  of 
the  farm  and  the  ideals  of  the  home.  Unlike  Elijah, 
he  was  no  homeless  Bedawy.  His  entire  environment 
was  such  as  to  prepare  him  for  the  problems  of  the 
new  era  which  he  was  called  upon  to  solve,  and  these 
were  vastly  different  from  those  that  had  confronted 
Elijah. 

ELISHA 

After  his  call,  we  hear  nothing  more  of  Elisha  for 
six  or  eight  years,  when  he  is  again  brought  into 
prominence  at  the  time  of  his  master's  translation. 
For  a  period  of  more  than  fifty  years  following  that 
event,  Elisha  was  the  most  important  figure  in  the 
history  of  his  country.  His  public  ministry  extended 
through  the  reigns  of  Jehoram  (851—842  B.  c.), 
Jehu  (842-814),  Jehoahaz  (814-797),  and  Joash 
(797-781).  In  the  midst  of  the  recorded  deeds  of 

"I  Kings  19:  19-21. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  55 

these  kings  of  Israel,  as  outlined  in  the  Second  Book 
of  Kings,  the  name  of  Elisha  appears  as  the  most 
important  and  chief  character.  His  ascendency 
marks  the  return  of  the  influence  of  the  prophets 
over  the  kings  of  his  country.  The  renewed  pre- 
dominance of  the  prophet  is  seen  during  the  war  of 
the  kings  of  Israel,  Judah,  and  Edom  against  Moab. 
During  the  invasion  of  Moab  they  found  themselves 
in  the  desert  without  water,  and  in  the  midst  of  their 
dire  distress,  Jehosaphat,  king  of  Judah,  suggested 
that  all  three  kings  appeal  to  the  prophet  of  the 
Lord.  They  sought  out  Elisha,  who,  after  a  rebuke 
to  Jehoram,  king  of  Israel,  ordered  them  at  the  di- 
rection of  the  Lord  to  dig  trenches  in  the  valley ;  on 
the  following  morning,  the  trenches  were  filled  with 
water.  Thus  refreshed,  these  allies  were  able  to  re- 
sist the  onslaughts  of  the  Moabites,  and  win  a  signal 
victory  over  them.  Elisha's  opposition  to  Jehoram 
resulted  in  Jehu  being  anointed  by  the  prophet's 
servant,  and  appointed  king  over  Israel.12  Jehu  re- 
warded the  prophet  with  the  destruction  of  all  the 
Baal-worshipers  in  his  dominion.  The  influence  of 
Elisha  on  Jehoahaz  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
great,  for  this  king's  reign  was  without  moral  or  so- 
cial importance.  But  the  estimate  of  the  prophet  by 
Joash,  uttered  when  the  king  visited  Elisha  on  his 
death  bed,  is  one  of  the  noblest  tributes  ever  paid  a 
public  servant.  When  the  king  looked  into  the 
prophet's  face  and  saw  that  the  end  was  near,  he  ex- 
claimed :  "  My  father,  my  father,  the  chariots  of 
Israel  and  the  horsemen  thereof,"  thus  giving  ex- 
is  II  Kings  9:  6,  7. 


56  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

pression  to  the  thought  that  Elisha  was  worth  more 
to  Israel  than  armies  of  soldiers. 

SOCIAL    TEACHING    OF    ELISHA 

The  social  teaching  of  Elisha  is  revealed  in  the 
domestic  experiences  recorded  of  him,  rather  than  in 
those  incidents  connected  with  his  relations  to  the 
kings  of  his  country.  To  these  we  must  turn  in 
order  to  get  the  larger  significance  of  his  public 
ministry. 

The  prophet's  deep  concern  for  the  home  as  an 
institution  is  revealed  in  two  miracles  where  the  con- 
trast is  striking  and  the  conditions  with  which  he 
deals  are  vastly  different.  One  experience  is  in  con- 
nection with  a  broken  home,  and  the  problem  is  that 
of  poverty  and  want.  The  other  experience  is  that  of 
a  home  of  wealth,  the  problem  being  that  of  child- 
lessness. He  solves  the  problem  of  poverty  by  mul- 
tiplying the  widow's  oil.13  He  meets  the  second  con- 
dition by  assuring  the  wife  that  the  Lord  will  pro- 
vide her  a  son,  and  when  this  promise  is  fulfilled,  and 
at  a  later  time  this  son  dies,  Elisha  returns  and  re- 
stores him  to  life.14  This  miracle  is  made  the  in- 
strument of  power  to  reveal  the  prophet's  concern 
for  the  problems  of  domestic  life.  Poverty,  disease, 
and  death  still  endanger  the  happiness  of  the  home. 
At  some  time  or  other,  the  homes  of  the  rich,  as  well 
as  those  of  the  poor,  must  experience  the  blight  of 
one  or  the  other  of  these.  We  have  sought  to  evade 
or  eliminate  them  by  social  legislation.  Elisha,  deal- 
ing with  similar  conditions,  adopted  another  method. 
But  whatever  the  method,  we  have  the  evidence  not 

is  II  Kings  4:  5-7.  ™  II  Kings  4:  8-37. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  57 

only  that  these  are  age-old  problems,  but  that  their 
solutions  have  ever  been  deemed  of  sufficient  impor- 
tance to  call  out  the  best  efforts  of  the  world's  wisest 
and  best  men. 

The  healing  of  Naaman,  the  greatest  captain  of 
the  army  of  Ben-hadad,  king  of  Syria,  is  an  incident 
of  sociological  importance.  We  are  told  in  the 
Bible  record  15  that  Naaman  was  afflicted  with  lep- 
rosy. An  Israelitish  maiden,  who  was  a  slave  in  the 
household  of  Naaman,  told  him  of  the  miraculous 
power  of  the  prophet  of  Samaria,  and  the  captain, 
willing  to  try  any  method  that  might  result  in  re- 
covery, came  with  a  retinue  and  gifts  to  the  king  of 
Israel,  seeking  the  one  with  the  power  to  heal.  The 
king  was  suspicious,  and  feared  that  Naaman  sought 
again  to  involve  him  in  war  with  Syria,  but  Elisha 
heard  of  the  visit  and  sent  for  the  captain  of  the 
Syrian  hosts.  The  prophet  bade  Naaman  to  go  and 
wash  in  the  Jordan,  and  to  dip  seven  times.  The 
captain  at  first  hesitated  because  the  water  was 
muddy,  but  he  finally  complied  with  the  request,  and 
was  fully  restored  to  health.  The  captain  sought  to 
reward  Elisha,  but  the  prophet  firmly  refused  to  ac- 
cept any  gift  from  the  hands  of  Naaman. 

But  Gehazi,  the  servant  of  Elisha,  possessed  none 
of  the  magnanimity  and  broadmindedness  of  his  mas- 
ter. He  saw  an  opportunity  to  possess  for  himself 
some  of  the  gifts  that  his  master  had  refused.  So 
he  hastily  set  out  after  the  departure  of  Naaman, 
and  when  he  had  overtaken  him,  by  misrepresenta- 
tion he  did  secure  some  of  the  money  and  garments. 
His  covetousness,  however,  was  not  to  bring  happi- 

is  II  Kings  5. 


58  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

ness,  for  when  Elisha  became  aware  of  this  act  of  his 
servant,  he  caused  the  leprosy  of  Naaman  to  cleave 
unto  his  servant.  What  is  the  social  meaning  of  this 
incident?  We  answer  that  happiness  can  never  come 
from  covetousness.  There  are,  also,  in  the  secret 
processes  of  acquiring  what  does  not  belong  to  us, 
the  elements  of  disloyalty,  hypocrisy,  and  deceit. 
These  social  sins  lie  at  the  base  of  social  disorder, 
and  make  insecure  the  whole  fabric  of  social  life. 

The  social  message  of  Elisha,  like  that  of  his  pred- 
ecessor, was  fragmentary  and  incomplete,  but  he 
pointed  the  way  for  his  great  successors,  some  of 
whom  were  soon  to  appear.  The  death  of  Elisha  oc- 
curred only  a  few  years  before  the  appearance  of 
Amos,  who  was  destined  to  give  large  attention  to 
social  reforms.  The  end  of  the  career  of  Elisha 
brings  to  a  close  the  first  great  epoch  in  Jewish 
prophecy,  often  called  the  pre-literary  period.  This 
event  also  marks  the  complete  ascendency  of  the 
prophet  as  the  statesman  and  reformer  of  Israel  and 
Judah.  Elisha  lived  to  see  the  office  of  prophet  re- 
stored to  influence  and  power  in  the  nation.  The 
prophets  of  the  future,  as  we  shall  see,  were  des- 
tined to  arouse  the  opposition  of  courts  and  people, 
but  never  again  were  the  prophets  of  Israel  or  Judah 
to  be  ignored.  Their  influence,  regardless  of  the  un- 
popularity of  their  messages,  was  destined  to  exert  a 
profound  influence  on  kings,  courts,  and  people. 

TOPICS  FOR   REPORTS  AND  INVESTIGATION 

1.  The  International  Relations  of  Israel  in  the  Ninth 
Century. 

2.  The  Wisdom  of  the  National  Policy  of  Elijah. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  59 

3.  A   Comparative   Study   of  the   Miracles   of   Elijah 
and  Elisha. 

4.  The   Political   Influence  of   Elisha. 

5.  The  Historical  Interval  Between  Elisha  and  Amos. 

FURTHER  READINGS 

Milligan's  "Elijah,  His  Life  and  Times";  Farrar's 
"  First  and  Second  Book  of  Kings/'  Vol.  I  and  II  ("  Ex- 
positor's Bible  ")  ;  Kent's  "  The  Kings  and  Prophets  of 
Israel  and  Judah "  ("  The  Historical  Bible "),  pp. 
17-30;  Chamberlin's  "The  Hebrew  Prophets/'  Chap. 
IV;  Willett's  "The  Moral  Leaders  of  Israel/'  pp.  59-84; 
articles  on  Elijah  and  Elisha  in  encyclopedias  and  Bible 
dictionaries. 


CHAPTER  V 
AMOS  OF  TEKOA 

Elisha  died  about  798  B.  c.,  and  almost  fifty  years 
intervened  before  the  birth  of  Amos.  This  period 
marked  the  second  important  transition  in  Hebrew 
history.  The  first  distinct  advance  toward  civiliza- 
tion was  made  when  the  Hebrews  crossed  the  Jordan 
into  Canaan.  Nomadic  life  gave  way  to  agriculture. 
Rural  groups  of  fighting  husbandmen  gradually  de- 
veloped into  a  barbaric  kingdom.  With  this  accom- 
plished, Israel  was  ready  for  the  second  step,  which 
occurred  after  the  death  of  Elisha  and  before  the 
birth  of  Amos.  We  are  now  to  see  urban  life  de- 
velop and  civic  culture  l  for  the  first  time  emerge. 
Each  advancement  towards  civilization  was  marked 
by  difficulties  and  temptations.  As  we  have  seen, 
the  first  stage  brought  the  Hebrews  into  contact  with 
the  shrines  of  Canaanitish  gods,  and  endangered 
monotheistic  faith.  We  are  now  to  see  new  dangers 
confronting  Israel.  City  communities  developed 
commerce  and  larger  intercourse  with  foreign  na- 

i  Davidson  says  that  the  stage  of  civic  culture  is  marked  by 
"a  gradual  emancipation  from  institutions  or  a  gradual  de- 
velopment of  individualism.  Institutions  do  not  disappear, 
but  man  becomes  master  of  them  and  rises  to  direct  institutions 
toward  moral  freedom."  "  History  of  Education,"  page  76. 
The  author,  however,  contends  that  the  Hebrews  did  not  at- 
tain civic  culture  until  after  the  exile. 

60 


THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  61 

tions.  "  There  were  all  the  temptations  of  rapid 
wealth,"  says  G.  A.  Smith,  "  all  the  dangers  of  an 
equally  increasing  poverty.  The  growth  of  comfort 
among  the  rulers  meant  the  growth  of  thoughtless- 
ness. Cruelty  multiplied  with  refinement.  The 
upper  classes  were  lifted  away  from  feeling  the  real 
woes  of  the  people.  There  was  a  well-fed  and  san- 
guine patriotism,  but  at  the  expense  of  indifference 
to  social  sin  and  want.  Religious  zeal  and  liberality 
increased,  but  they  were  coupled  with  the  proud's 
misunderstanding  of  God:  an  optimist  faith  without 
moral  insight  or  sympathy. 

"  It  is  all  this  which  makes  the  prophets  of  the 
eighth  century  so  modern,  while  Elisha's  life  is  still 
so  ancient.  With  him  we  are  back  in  the  times  of 
our  own  border  wars  —  of  Wallace  and  Bruce,  with 
their  struggles  for  the  freedom  of  the  soil.  With 
Amos,  we  stand  among  the  conditions  of  our  own 
day.  The  city  has  arisen.  For  the  development  of 
the  highest  form  of  prophecy,  the  universal  and 
permanent  form,  there  was  needed  that  marvellously 
unchanging  mould  of  human  life  whose  needs  and 
sorrows,  whose  sins  and  problems,  are  to-day  the 
same  as  they  were  all  those  thousands  of  years 


ago."  2 


AGE  OF  JEROBOAM  II 


Amos  lived  during  the  latter  half  of  the  long  reign 
of  Jeroboam  II,  which  began  about  783  B.  c.  and  con- 
tinued until  743  B.  c.,  a  period  of  forty  years.3  He 
was  the  fourth  king  of  Israel  belonging  to  the  dy- 

2  "Twelve  Prophets"   ("Expositor's  Bible"),  Vol.  I,  p.  34. 
311  Kings  14:  23,  29. 


62  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

nasty  of  Jehu,  and  the  most  notable  of  his  line. 
Jehu,  the  founder  of  the  dynasty,  was  a  merciless  re- 
former, and  practically  exterminated  the  worship  of 
Baal  in  his  kingdom.  His  son,  Jehoahaz,  who  fol- 
lowed him  on  the  throne,  suffered  great  loss  of  terri- 
tory because  he  was  unable  to  defend  it,  for  most  of 
the  nation's  warriors  had  been  slain  in  the  wars  dur- 
ing his  father's  reign.  A  revival  came  to  the  nation 
in  the  reign  of  Jehoash,  the  third  king  of  the  dy- 
nasty, who  ascended  the  throne  in  798  B.  c.  His 
ability  as  a  warrior  enabled  him  to  recover  much  of 
the  territory  which  had  been  wrested  from  his  father 
by  Syria.  Elisha  had  just  died  and  this  recovery  of 
territory  was  in  accord  with  the  prophet's  dying 
promise.4 

The  brilliant  reign  of  Jeroboam  II  scarcely  finds 
a  place  in  the  historic  record  of  Israelitish  history. 
Only  eight  verses  in  the  biblical  record  are  devoted 
to  this  remarkable  reign  of  forty  years.  But  this  is 
supplemented  fortunately  by  the  contemporary  utter- 
ances of  the  prophet  Amos,  who  gives  a  rather  de- 
tailed description  of  the  social  conditions  of  this 
reign.  We  are  somewhat  prepared  for  Amos'  denun- 
ciation of  him,  by  the  words :  "  he  departed  not  from 
all  the  sins  of  Jeroboam  the  son  of  Nebat,  wherewith 
he  made  Israel  to  sw"  5  for  his  reign  was  a  grievous 
and  ignominious  one.6  But,  in  spite  of  the  social 
wrongs  with  which  he  inflicted  his  people,  he  was  suc- 
cessful in  restoring  the  former  territorial  limits  of 
Israel.  He  lived  to  see  his  power  extended  from  the 
Dead  Sea  on  the  south  to  Hamath,  which  is  located 

*II  Kings  13:  14-19.  6  I  Kings  14:  7-13. 

ell  Kings  14:  24. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  63 

between  the  Lebanon  ranges,  to  the  north.  History 
has  often  repeated  this  experience.  Brilliant  achieve- 
ments in  arms  and  territorial  expansion  are  accom- 
panied with  internal  deterioration  in  morals  and  so- 
cial relations. 

SKETCH  OF  AMOS 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  this  age  of  external  splendor 
that  Amos  was  born  in  the  village  of  Tekoa,  a  few 
miles  southeast  of  Jerusalem,  in  the  kingdom  of  Ju- 
dah,  about  759  B.  c.  We  are  told  that  at  the  time 
of  Amos  "  Tekoa  was  a  place  without  sanctity  and 
almost  without  tradition."  7  The  previous  mention 
of  the  village  in  history  was  in  connection  with  its 
fortification  by  Rehoboam,  and  the  visit  of  a  wise 
woman  to  David,  who  came  from  this  locality.  Na- 
ture also  had  not  been  very  generous  to  this  sec- 
tion. The  country  round  about  was  bare  and  deso- 
late. Doubtless  most  of  the  people  lived  scantily 
upon  the  limited  resources  of  this  locality,  for  both 
agriculture  and  fruit  raising  must  have  been  greatly 
restricted  by  the  barren  and  rocky  wastes.  Amos, 
in  his  conversation  with  the  priest  Amaziah,  tells  us 
of  his  mode  of  living  and  his  dual  occupation.  "  7 
was  an  herdsman,  and  a  gatherer  of  sycamore 
fruit." 8  The  original  rather  implies  an  inferior 
grade  of  sheep,  and  the  fruit  was  a  kind  of  fig  that 
never  came  to  natural  ripeness  in  the  colder,  ele- 
vated areas  of  Judah.  We  would  judge  from  this 
that  Amos  lived  a  rather  isolated  and  precarious  life. 
Doubtless  the  visits  to  the  various  cities  of  the  lo- 
cality to  sell  his  meager  products  were  the  chief  fac- 

7G.  A.  Smith's  "Twelve  Prophets,"  Vol.  I,  p.  74. 
s  Amos  7:  14. 


64  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

tor  in  determining,  his  wonderful  career,  for  it  was 
in  this  way  he  came  in  contact  with  the  luxury  and 
wealth  of  the  cities,  which  he  could  not  help  contrast- 
ing with  the  poverty  and  hardships  of  his  own  people. 
We  have  no  way  of  knowing  why  he  went  to  Bethel 
to  proclaim  his  message  instead  of  to  the  nearer  cities 
of  Bethlehem,  Hebron,  or  Jerusalem.  However, 
neither  of  these  cities  was  at  a  great  distance,  and 
we  may  assume  that  he  was  reasonably  familiar  with 
the  social  conditions  of  each  for  the  reason,  just 
cited,  that  he  had  doubtless  visited  all  of  them  in 
seeking  a  market  for  his  wool  and  fruit.  We  are 
confronted  also  with  the  difficulty  that  he  belonged 
to  Judah,  and  lived  under  the  righteous  reign  of 
King  Uzziah,9  which  was  a  period  marked  by  great 
prosperity  and  development.  It  might  have  been 
that  Amos  did  not  feel  that  Judah  was  weak  in  so- 
cial responsibility,  but  if  this  was  not  the  motive  for 
attempting  reform  here,  instead  of  in  Israel,  we  have 
the  other  historical  fact  that  because  of  the  ancient 
covenants  of  Israel  there  was  a  feeling  of  unity  be- 
tween these  countries,  and  the  welfare  of  both  was  a 
matter  of  concern  to  the  reformers  of  either  country. 

THE  SOCIAL  MESSAGE  OF  AMOS 

The  austerity  of  life  at  Tekoa  developed  a  sensi- 
tiveness in  the  mind  of  Amos  to  the  life  of  the  people 
in  the  country  as  contrasted  with  that  of  the  city. 
Opportunity  enabled  him  to  contrast  the  luxury, 
frivolities,  dishonesty,  immorality,  and  hypocrisy  of 
the  cities  with  the  hardships,  poverty,  and  restricted 
opportunities  of  the  rural  population.  To  lay  bare 

»Amos  1:  1. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  65 

this  condition  and  to  quicken  the  consciences  of  the 
rich  was  the  mission  of  this  great  reformer.  The 
moral  program  of  Amos  may  be  said  to  comprehend 
two  great  classes  of  social  offences:  (1)  Interna- 
tional crimes  against  humanity;  (2)  national  so- 
cial wrongs. 

The  great  message  of  Amos  begins  with  a  cata- 
logue of  the  offences  against  humanity  that  had  been 
committed  by  the  neighboring  nations  of  Israel.  A 
specific  sin  is  charged  up  to  Syria,  Philistia,  Phoeni- 
cia, Edom,  Ammon,  and  Moab;  and  with  a  terrible 
formulary  introduction,  "  for  three  transgressions 
—  yea  for  four,"  he  rebukes  each  in  turn  for  its  sin 
of  condemnation.  Damascus  is  rebuked  for  cru- 
elty;10 Edom  is  execrated  for  violating  a  fraternal 
covenant;11  the  Ammonites  are  denounced  because 
they  murdered  helpless  and  defenseless  women  in 
their  wars  of  conquest.  Finally,  condemnation  is 
meted  out  to  the  Moabites  for  the  barbarous  act  of 
destroying  the  body  of  the  kmg  of  Edom,  who  lost 
his  life  in  battle.  In  an  age  of  inhumanity  this 
teacher  of  universal  righteousness  sets  a  twentieth 
century  standard  of  national  and  international  in- 
tegrity, and  calls  the  attention  of  Israel  and  Judah 
to  the  heinous  nature  of  such  crimes,  and  the  thor- 
ough-going punishment  to  be  meted  out  to  each  na- 
tion that  disregards  the  responsibiltiy  of  interna- 
tional justice. 

But  can  Judah  and  Israel  congratulate  themselves 
that  they  are  above  reproach?  No.  The  prophet 
turns  in  the  third  chapter,  with  the  use  of  this  same 
reproachful  formula,  to  rebuke  them  for  social  sins 

10  Amos  1:6.  n  Amos  1 :  9. 


66  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

of  serious  import.  Even  Judah,  with  its  righteous 
king  and  national  prosperity,  is  charged  with  the 
violation  of  law,  and  her  people  are  charged  with 
lying  and  deceit. 

Then  follows  the  category  of  social  wrongs  which 
Amos  describes  with  rather  great  detail,  for  he  was 
familiar  with  the  internal  conditions  in  his  own 
country : 

( 1 )     EXTORTION 

"  They  have  sold  the  righteous  for  silver,  and  the 
needy  for  a  pair  of  shoes."  12 

"  Hear  this,  O  ye  that  would  swallow  up  the  needy, 
and  cause  the  poor  of  the  land  to  fail,  saying,  when 
will  the  new  moon  be  gone,  that  we  may  sell  grain? 
And  the  Sabbath,  that  we  may  set  forth  wheat,  mak- 
ing the  ephah  small,  and  the  shekel  great,  and  dealing 
falsely  with  balances  of  deceit;  that  we  ma>y  buy  the 
poor  for  silver,  and  the  needy  for  a  pair  of  shoes,  and 
sell  the  refuse  of  the  wheat?  "  13 

Two  kinds  of  extortion  are  referred  to  in  this  in- 
dictment. The  first  relates  to  the  condemnation  of 
the  innocent  by  unscrupulous  judges.  They  have 
sold  the  righteous  (used  in  a  judicial,  not  a  moral, 
sense)  for  money.  The  judge  would  deliver  to  the 
creditor  as  a  slave  the  poor  man  who  could  not  pay 
even  for  a  pair  of  shoes,  and  justify  his  decree  by 
the  Levitical  law.14  The  second  indictment  is  of  the 
rich  for  coveting  the  small  possessions  of  the  poor. 
Amos  takes  time  to  indicate  the  method  used  by  rich 
and  powerful  men  of  the  nation  to  gain  possession 
of  the  earnings  of  the  poor.  They  are  so  covetous 

12  Amos  2:  6.  is  Amos  8:  4-7.  1*  Lev.  25:  39 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  67 

that  they  can  scarcely  wait  until  the  feast  days  (until 
the  new  moon  is  over)  to  begin  their  corrupt  bar- 
gaining.15 The  method  used  to  defraud  was  to  give 
small  measure  ("  ephah"),  and  by  increasing  the 
price,  making  the  shekel  great,  and  also  by  the  use 
of  false  scales  or  scales  used  to  deceive.  Not  satis- 
fied with  their  corrupt  methods,  they  would  sell  the 
bad  grain,  for  this  was  before  the  days  of  pure  food 
and  pure  seed  laws.  By  this  method  the  poor  man 
became  poorer,  until  he  would  either  be  compelled 
to  sell  himself  to  the  rich  man  to  relieve  his  debts,16 
or  by  a  decree  of  the  court  be  turned  over  to  the 
creditor  because  of  inability  to  meet  his  obligations. 
Thus  the  court  became  the  willing  servants  of  the 
wealthy  aristocracy. 

(2)     IMMORALITY 

Shameless  immorality  was  a  second  charge  made 
by  Amos,  and  this  was  practiced  in  connection  with 
religious  rites.  "  A  man  and  Ms  father  go  unto  the 
same  maiden,  to  profane  My  holy  name,  and  they^ 
lay  themselves  down  beside  every  altar  upon  clothes 
taken  in  pledge,  and  in  the  house  of  their  God  they 
drink  zvine  of  such  as  have  been  fined."  17  G.  A. 
Smith  18  calls  this  a  "  riot  of  sin ;  the  material  of 

is  "  Chodesh,  the  new  moon,  was  a  holiday  on  which  all 
trade  was  suspended,  just  as  it  was  on  the  Sabbath."  —  Kiel 
and  Delitzsch's  "  Commentary  on  the  Minor  Prophets,"  Vol. 
I,  p.  315. 

is  It  was  a  well-established  Hebrew  statute  that  raiment 
taken  in  pledge  was  to  be  returned  each  night  (Ex.  22:  26), 
but  the  usurers  and  licentious  people  shamelessly  violated  this 
humane  law. 

17  Amos  2:  8. 

is  "Twelve  Prophets"  ("Expositor's  Bible"),  Vol.  1,  p. 
137. 


68  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

their  revels  is  the  miseries  of  the  poor,  its  stage  the 
house  of  God."  This  is  a  horrible  and  repulsive 
indictment,  but  it  is  one  of  the  by-products  of  civil- 
ization that  has  manifested  itself  in  every  age  when 
populations  become  congested  in  thickly-inhabited 
centers. 

(3)     CORRUPTION    IN    CITIES 

The  corrupt  practices  that  had  developed  in  the 
cities  caused  the  prophet  to  warn  the  people  to  avoid 
even  the  religious  centers.  "  But  seek  not  Bethel, 
nor  enter  into  GUgal,  and  pass  not  to  Beer-sheba; 
for  GUgal  shall  surely  go  into  captivity,  and  Bethel 
shall  come  to  naught."  19  This  "  back  to  the  coun- 
try "  admonition  reveals  the  prophet's  belief  in  the 
degenerating  influences  of  city  life.  He  had  seen 
idolatrous  worship  and  immorality  develop  in  the 
most  religious  centers,  and  he  became  convinced  that 
a  pure  faith  and  a  wholesome  moral  life  were  im- 
possible under  such  conditions. 

(4?)     CLASS    INEQUALITY    AND    OPPRESSION 

Amos  attributes  inequality  of  opportunity  and  the 
practice  of  oppression  to  the  injustice  in  court  ad- 
ministration. "  For  I  know  your  manifold  trans- 
gressions, and  your  mighty  sins;  they  afflict  the  just, 
they  take  a  bribe,  and  they  turn  aside  in  the  gate 
from  their  right."  20  This  condition  made  it  pos- 
sible for  the  rich  to  "  tread  upon  the  poor,  and  take 
the  distribution  of  corn  from  him."  21 

The  men  were  not  alone  in  their  oppressions. 
The  women,  too,  were  guilty,  and  against  them  Amos 

i»  Amos  5:  5.  20  Amos  5:  12.  21  Amos  5:  11. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  69 

makes  use  of  the  most  scornful  words.  "  H ear  this 
word,  ye  kine  [cows]  of  Bashan,  that  are  in  the 
mountain  of  Samaria,  which  oppress  the  poor,  which 
crush  the  needy,  which  say  to  their  masters,  Bring, 
and  let  us  drink."  22  The  analogy  is  a  rough  one, 
but  it  expressed  a  herdsman's  conception  of  the  rich 
and  voluptuous  women  who  trampled  on  the  weaker 
and  less  fortunate  —  thoughtless  of  the  rights  of 
others. 

CONDEMNATION  OF  WASTEFUL  LUXURY 

Amos  looked  upon  all  the  evidences  of  conspicu- 
ous luxury  with  disapproval,  for  he  saw  in  it  all  the 
ill-gotten  gain  of  a  privileged  class.  The  prophet 
could  not  believe  that  Jehovah  would  allow  this  opu- 
lent class  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  ill-gotten  gain. 
"And  I  will  smite  the  winter  house  with  the  summer 
house;  and  the  houses  of  ivory  shall  perish,  and  the 
great  houses  shall  have  an  end,  saith  the  Lord."  23 
"  Ye  have  built  houses  of  hewn  stone,  but  ye  shall 
not  dwell  in  them;  ye  have  planted  pleasant  vine- 
yards, but  ye  shall  not  drmk  wine  of  them." 24 
Again  he  pictures,  in  another  connection,  the  irre- 
sponsibility and  luxurious  ease  of  this  class:  "  Ye 
that  put  away  the  evil  day  and  cause  the  seat  of 
violence  to  come  near;  that  lie  upon  beds  of  ivory, 
and  stretch  yourselves  upon  your  couches,  and  eat 
the  lambs  out  of  the  flocks,  and  the  calves  out  of  the 
midst  of  the  stall;  that  sing  idle  songs  to  the  sound  of 
viol  and  that  drink  wine  in  bowls,  and  anoint  with 
the  chief  oils."  25  The  terms  used  by  Amos  indicate 

22  Amos  4:  1.  24  Amos  5:  11. 

23  Amos  3:  15.  25  Amos  6:  4-6. 


70  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

that  Hebrew  civilization  comprehended  a  leisure  class 
that  possessed  all  the  attributes  of  "  conspicuous 
leisure  "  and  "  conspicuous  consumption  "  so  vividly 
described  by  Veblin.26 

It  was  but  natural  that  such  indictments  and 
prophecies  of  destruction  should  create  a  sensation 
and  arouse  violent  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  rich 
and  idle  class.  We  naturally  expect  such  a  class  to 
have  its  defenders,  men  who  themselves  have  profited 
by  the  system  under  condemnation. 

PRIEST  VS.  PROPHET 

The  protest  of  Amaziah,  the  priest  of  Bethel,  is 
an  illustration  of  this  type  of  zealous  defender. 
"  Amos  has  conspired  against  thee  in  the  midst  of 
the  house  of  Israel,  the  land  is  not  able  to  bear  all 
his  words,"  was  the  message  of  Amaziah  to  his  king, 
and  he  doubtless  voiced  the  feeling  of  all  the  class 
against  whom  Amos  was  hurling  his  merciless  ana- 
themas. But  the  protest  of  Amaziah  is  interesting 
from  another  viewpoint.  It  illustrates  the  attitude 
of  the  official  priests  of  the  day.  For  more  than  a 
century  the  chasm  between  priest  and  prophet  had 
been  widening.27  By  the  time  of  Amos  the  differ- 
ences had  become  so  great  as  to  constitute  a  strug- 
gle for  supremacy  between  ritualistic  formalism  and 
vital  religious  conviction.  These  differences  re- 
sulted in  the  priestly  class  becoming  the  conserva- 
tives, and  the  prophetic  class  the  radicals.  The 
prophets  became  the  protestants  and  the  priests  the 

26  "  The  Theory  of  the  Leisure  Class,"  Chap.  Ill,  and  IV. 

27  See  Baldwin's  "Our  Modern  Debt  to  Israel,"  Chap.  IV, 
for  a  splendid  discussion  of  the  office  of  the  priest  in  Jewish 
society. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  71 

defenders  of  the  established  order.  It  was  natural 
for  the  priests  to  constitute  a  popular  and  influ- 
ential class  in  Jewish  society.  They  pleased  the  rul- 
ing classes  by  defending  the  accepted  spcial  order, 
and  they  directed  the  routine  of  public  worship  and 
interpreted  the  law.  This  identified  them  with  the 
rulers  in  a  more  intimate  way  than  could  possibly 
exist  with  either  the  prophets  or  the  sages.  The 
priests  had  also  profited  by  the  extortion  and  in- 
justice of  the  age,  and  they  felt  called  upon  to  de- 
fend the  system  that  meant  profit  to  them.  Amos 
and  Amaziah  may  be  said  to  represent  typically  the 
two  respective  classes  here  described.  Professor 
Jordan  says  that  "  Amos  and  Amaziah  represent  two 
different  worlds,  worlds  that  are  always  in  conflict, 
and  that  can  never  understand  each  other.  The 
courtier,  the  representative  of  luxury,  fashion,  and 
convenience,  stands  now  face  to  face  with  a  stern, 
strong  man,  who  is  a  type  of  the  simplicity  of  re- 
ligion and  the  supremacy  of  conscience." 28  The 
verbal  conflict  between  these  two  men  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  incidents  contained  in  the  book  of 
Amos.29 

GENERAL  SOCIAL  CONTENT 

While  it  is  easy  to  see  that  Amos  was  more  con- 
cerned with  the  specific  imperfections  of  the  social 
order,  his  message  contains  a  general  social  content 
of  great  importance.  Social  justice  and  righteous- 
ness were  inseparable.  Both  were  the  product  of  an 
ethical  like-mindedness.  "  Shall  two  walk  together, 
except  they  have  agreed?  "  30  "  Seek  good  and  not 

28  Prophetic  Ideas  and  Ideals,  p.  17.         29  Amos  7:  10-17. 
so  Amos  3:  3. 


72  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

evil  that  ye  may  live."  31  "  Let  justice  roll  down  as 
waters,  and  righteousness  as  a  mighty  stream."  32 
In  the  first  of  these  great  statements,  we  have  the 
genesis  of  what  the  sociologists  now  call  like-minded- 
ness.  Giddings 33  has  called  this  particular  type 
"  dogmatic  like-mi/ndedness"  or  the  type  that  is  pro- 
duced by  the  strong  partisan  or  social  reformer. 
Amos  sought  to  produce  a  solidarity  of  effort  for  the 
promotion  of  goodness.  He  thought  the  possibility 
of  this  rested  upon  the  establishment  of  justice 
("  mishpat  "),  and  he  thought  this  was  possible  only 
by  reforming  the  courts,  which  were  controlled  by  the 
upper  classes.  The  problem  is  fundamental  and  of 
unusually  wide  application.  The  age-long  social 
problem  has  been  to  prevent  some  members  of  society 
from  using  others  as  the  means  to  the  accomplishment 
of  selfish  ends.  Hoffding  expresses  this  thought  as 
follows :  "  A  society  of  human  personalities  can  be 
perfect  only  when  none  of  its  members  uses  others  as 
mere  means,  and  when  no  portion  of  the  personality 
of  any  individual  member  is  unsymmetrically  favored 
or  repressed."  34 

The  conclusion  of  Amos  as  to  the  content  of  moral 
conduct  agrees  with  this  statement,  and  there  is 
every  indication  that  this  prophet  realized  fully  the 
nature  of  this  content.  He  sought  to  indicate  the 
value  of  the  details  of  life  that  made  up  the  activi- 
ties of  men,  which  was  not  a  difficult  task  in  his  time. 
It  is  remarkable  that  after  all  these  centuries  we  find 

si  Amos  5:  14.  32  Amos  5:  24. 

33  Professor  Giddings  classes  like-mindedness  as  follows: 
(a)  instinctive,  (b)  sympathetic,  (c)  dogmatic,  (d)  delibera- 
tive. See  "  Inductive  Sociology,"  Chap.  IV,  pp.  133-154. 

s*  «  Ethik,"  p.  200. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  73 

the  social  categories  of  Amos  still  valid.  His  mes- 
sage is  still  vital  and  applicable.  We  are  endan- 
gered by  the  same  sins  that  Amos  was  compelled  to 
condemn.  Warring  nations  in  this  good  year 
(1916)  have  been  condemned  for  crimes  similar  to 
those  charged  up  to  the  neighboring  nations  of  Is- 
rael. Domestic  wrongs  current  in  the  time  of  Amos 
are  still  practiced  in  our  day.  Nations,  as  well  as 
individuals,  need  to  heed  the  admonitions  of  Amos 
to  "  seek  good  and  not  evil."  The  message  of  this 
early  Jewish  prophet,  therefore,  is  a  warning  and 
an  admonition  to  us.  We  can  well  afford  to  heed  it. 

TOPICS  FOR   REPORTS  AND  INVESTIGATION 

1.  Sketch  of  the  Life  of  Amos. 

2.  The  Significance  of  the  Visions  of  Amos  in  Chap- 
ters Seven  and  Eight. 

3.  The  Prophetic  Element  in  Amos. 

4.  Historic  Sketch  of  Israel  and  Judah  in  the  Time 
of  Amos. 

5.  Religious  Ideals  of  Amos. 

FURTHER  READINGS 

Jordan's  "Prophetic  Ideas  and  Ideals/'  pp.  17—26; 
Kirkpatrick's  "  The  Doctrine  of  the  Prophets,"  pp. 
83-108;  Cornill's  "  The  Prophets  of  Israel,"  pp.  37-46; 
George  Adam  Smith's  "  Book  of  the  Twelve  Prophets/' 
Vol.  1,  pp.  61-196;  Kent's  "  The  Kings  and  Prophets  of 
Israel  and  Judah "  ("  The  Historical  Bible "),  pp. 
53-79 ;  Baldwin's  "  Our  Modern  Debt  to  Israel/'  Chap. 
IV,  pp.  95-133;  Sanders  and  Kent's  "The  Messages  of 
the  Earlier  Prophets/'  pp.  23-44 ;  G.  Campbell  Morgan's 
"Living  Messages  of  the  Books  of  the  Bible"  (Genesis 
to  Malachi),  pp.  197-211;  articles  on  Amos  in  encyclo- 
pedias and  Bible  dictionaries. 


CHAPTER  VI 
HOSEA  BEN  BEERI 

Hosea  began  to  prophesy  in  Israel  in  less  than  a 
decade  after  the  close  of  the  public  ministry  of  Amos. 
Conditions  had  not  materially  changed  during  this 
short  interval.  The  two  prophets  analyzed  the  so- 
cial situation  in  about  the  same  way,  but  each  had 
his  own  particular  remedy  to  apply  in  the  reform 
movement  of  the  times.  Social  justice  is  the  most 
emphatic  element  in  the  program  of  Amos.  In 
Hosea,  knowledge  1  and  the  quality  of  mercy  as  the 
attribute  of  God  are  predominant.  Justice  and 
mercy  are  the  attributes  of  the  God  of  both  prophets, 
but  they  do  not  give  equal  emphasis  to  them. 
These  prophets  differed  widely  in  inheritance,  early 
environment,  and  temperament.  This  produced  in 
Amos  the  intellectuality  that  caused  him  to  magnify 
the  ethical  element,  while  the  emotional  nature  of 
Hosea  resulted  in  an  appeal  to  religious  sentiment. 
The  two  supplemented  each  other  admirably. 

DECLINE    AND    FALL    OF  ISRAEL 

Hosea  lived  during  troublous  times.  He  has  been 
called  the  "  Jeremiah  of  Israel,"  for  he  was  the 
prophet  of  the  decline  and  fall  of  the  kingdom  of 
Israel,  just  as  Jeremiah  was  the  prophet  of  the  de- 

iHos.  4:  6. 

74 


THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  75 

cline  and  fall  of  Judah.  Bible  scholars  generally 
agree  that  the  sermons  of  Hosea  were  delivered  be- 
tween 750  B.  c.  and  the  capture  of  Samaria  in  722 
B.  c.  This  would  bring  a  part  of  his  message  2  into 
the  period  covered  by  the  closing  days  of  Jeroboam 
II.  Evidently  the  social  offenses  which  Amos  con- 
demned so  strongly  had  begun  to  undermine  the  life 
of  Israel,  and  the  calamities  and  penalties  which  he 
prophesied  had  begun  to  come  upon  the  nation. 
The  victory  ol  Zechariah,  the  son  of  Jeroboam,  on 
the  classic  battle  field  of  Jezreel,  brought  to  a  close 
the  reign  of  the  house  of  Jehu. 

The  twenty  years  that  followed  the  death  of  this 
great  king  were  years  of  rapid  moral  decay  and  po- 
litical confusion.  Zechariah,  the  son  of  King  Jere- 
boam,  followed  him  on  the  throne,  but  he  was  as- 
sassinated by  Shellum  ben  Jabesh  after  a  reign  of 
about  six  months.  He  in  turn  was  slain  in  about  a 
month  by  Menehem  ben  Gadi.  Menehem  held  the 
throne  for  six  or  seven  years,  but  in  order  to  do  so  he 
was  compelled  to  impoverish  his  people  by  collecting 
from  them  large  sums  with  which  he  paid  tribute  to 
the  Assyrian  king.  The  words  contained  in  the 
second  part  3  of  Hosea  were  doubtless  spoken  during 
this  period.  Political  decay  had  inevitably  followed 
the  moral  decay  described  by  both  Amos  and  Hosea. 
The  latter  summed  up  the  political  condition  in  two 
striking,  epigrammatic  sentences.  "  Ephraim,  he 
mixeth  himself  among  the  people."  "  Ephraim  is  a 
cake  not  turned."  4 

The  first  of  these  sentences  describes  the  failure  of 
Israel's  foreign  policy ;  the  second  was  designed  as 

2Hos.  Chapters  1-3.  3  Hos.  4:  14.  4  Hos.  7:  8. 


76  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

a  satire  on  the  social  conditions  at  home.  Why  was 
Israel  called  upon  in  these  evil  days  to  pay  tribute? 
Because  the  nation  had  failed  to  use  the  strength 
that  came  to  her  by  virtue  of  having  the  true  God 
to  worship,  and  had  followed  after  the  gods  of  other 
nations.  In  so  doing  national  strength  was  sacri- 
ficed, and  the  opportunity  for  international  su- 
premacy was  lost.  Instead  of  drawing  the  other  na- 
tions up  to  the  standard  required  by  the  supreme 
God,  Israel  sank  to  the  level  of  worshiping  false  gods. 
In  this  way  Ephraim  mixed  himself  with  other  na- 
tions. 

The  figure  of  the  unturned  cake  may  mean  one  of 
several  things,  according  to  George  Adams  Smith.5 
(1)  It  may  refer  to  social  inequality  of  the  people 
—  one-half  of  whom  were  too  poor,  the  other  half  too 
rich.  (&)  It  may  mean  dissemination  of  religion  — 
they  retained  it  for  their  temples,  but  neglected  it 
in  their  daily  living.  (3)  It  may  allude  to  Israel's 
politics,  in  which  hasty  policies  were  undertaken 
which  resulted  disastrously  in  the  end.  Or  (4)  the 
prophet  may  have  had  in  mind  the  imperfect  culture 
of  Israel  in  which  there  were  superficiality  and  exag- 
geration. It  is  not  improbable  that  he  had  in  mind 
all  of  these  conditions.  In  other  figures  in  this  chap- 
ter the  history  of  the  period  is  satirized.  In  each 
there  is  an  illusion  to  the  fatal  decline  of  the  nation 
and  the  cause  of  its  final  doom. 

LIFE  OF  HOSEA 

Very  little  is  known  about  the  early  life  of  Hosea. 
We  are  told  that  he  was  the  son  of  Beeri.6  There  is 

B  "Twelve  Prophets"  ("Expositor's  Bible"),  Vol.  I,  p.  273. 
6  Hos.  1 :  1. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  77 

some  evidence  in  his  utterances  that  would  lead  to  the 
conclusion  that  he  was  a  native  of  the  northern  king- 
dom, for  he  speaks  of  "  our  king,"  referring  to  the 
king  of  Israel.7  Hosea  was  a  younger  man  than 
Amos,  and  we  cannot  be  certain  that  he  ever  heard 
this  great  preacher  of  righteousness  on  the  streets 
of  Bethel  or  Samaria,  but  it  is  not  improbable  that 
he  at  least  knew  intimately  of  the  great  work  of  his 
predecessor.  Professor  Willet 8  suggests  that  this 
prophet  was  possibly  a  man  not  only  of  culture,  but 
of  opulence,  and  that  he  may  have  been  a  member  of 
the  priestly  class.  This  conclusion  is  hardly  sup- 
ported by  any  specific  utterance  of  the  prophet,  but 
we  are  justified  in  the  conclusion  that  he  was  the 
prophet  of  love,  and  that  his  patriotism  was  guided 
by  a  remarkable  insight  into  the  political  and  moral 
conditions  of  his  country. 

The  one  great  fact  of  certainty  in  his  life  is  that 
of  his  unhappy  and  disastrous  marriage.  The  first 
division  of  the  book 9  narrates  this  sad  experience, 
and  illustrates  one  social  ideal  of  Hosea,  his  concep- 
tion of  the  sanctity  of  the  marriage  relation.  We 
are  told  that  he  was  married  to  a  young  woman  by 
the  name  of  Gomer,  the  daughter  of  a  certain  Dib- 
laim.  He  probably  procured  his  wife  by  purchase, 
which  was  in  conformity  to  established  custom. 
Perhaps  this  marriage  in  the  beginning  held  out  all 
the  promise  that  the  young  husband  could  have  de- 
sired. It  is  not  improbable  that  the  young  wife  pos- 
sessed many  of  the  attributes  that  a  high-minded 

7  Hos.  7:  5. 

s  "The  Moral  Leaders  of  Israel,"  Part  II,  p.  26. 

»Hos.  Chapters  1-3. 


78  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

young  man  would  expect  to  find  in  the  woman  of  his 
choice.  But  Hosea  had  not  yet  measured  the  se- 
ductive charm  and  the  licentious  practices  that  had 
gained  headway  in  the  religious  ceremonies  of  the 
day,  and  he  little  dreamed  how  these  rites  were  to 
fascinate  his  wife,  and  cause  her  to  neglect  her  home 
and  forget  the  obligations  of  her  domestic  ties.  In 
the  great  religious  centers  of  Bethel,  Gilgal,  and 
Dan,  and  in  the  high  places,  religious  ceremonies 
continued  during  the  decline,  but  the  form  of  wor- 
ship had  degenerated.  The  feasts  which  were  held 
under  religious  sanction  were  little  better  than 
orgies.  These  practices  reacted  on  the  whole  moral 
fiber  of  the  national  life.  The  tragedy  in  the  home 
of  Hosea  may  be  traced  to  these  immoral  conditions. 
Time  went  on,  and  three  children,  two  sons  and 
one  daughter,  were  born  into  the  home  of  this  couple. 
By  direction  of  the  Lord  the  first  boy  was  called 
Jezreel.  It  seems  natural  that  this  happy  and  con- 
tented family  should  give  this  child  the  name  of  the 
peaceful  valley  that  extended  in  the  distance  from 
their  home.  It  could  not  have  been  foreseen  then 
that  a  new  meaning  would  be  given  this  name  in  a 
few  years  when  the  bloody  battle  of  Jezreel  was  to 
be  fought  there  as  the  result  of  which  the  strength 
of  the  northern  kingdom  would  be  broken.  But 
this  prophet  soon  realized  that  other  affections  and 
interests  were  striving  against  those  of  his  home, 
and  that  the  wife  was  fast  yielding  to  these  tempta- 
tions. So,  when  the  second  child,  a  daughter,  was 
born,  the  husband  had  become  fully  aware  of  his 
wife's  neglect  of  her  domestic  duties.  He  therefore 
named  the  girl  "  Lo-ruhaTndh"  "  the  uncared-for" 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  79 

By  the  time  the  third  child  was  born  into  this  house- 
hold, Hosea  had  become  fully  aware  that  his  wife 
was  unfaithful  and  that  he  no  longer  possessed  her 
affections,  so  this  child  was  given  the  sinister  name 
of  "  Lo-ammi,"  "  no-kin-of-mme."  Six  years  had 
probably  intervened  between  the  marriage  of  Hosea 
and  the  birth  of  this  third  child.  The  crisis  had 
come.  The  wife  abandoned  her  home.  Her  descent 
to  degradation  and  infamy  was  rapid.  Hosea  may 
have  watched  it  with  great  sorrow,  for  he  was  doubt- 
less aware  of  her  life  and  conduct  even  after  she  had 
left  her  home.  Her  complete  humiliation  finally 
came  —  she  was  to  be  sold  in  the  slave  market. 
While  she  had  sacrificed  all  right  to  his  protection, 
still  this  man  could  not  forget  that  she  was  his  wife, 
and  he  went  into  the  slave  market  and  bought  back 
this  woman  for  fifteen  pieces  of  silver  and  a  homer 
and  a  half  of  barley.  In  defiance  of  established  cus- 
tom and  public  opinion,  he  restored  her  to  his  home 
and  placed  her  under  his  loving  protection. 

The  significance  of  this  narrative  is  two-fold:  In 
the  first  place,  the  infidelity  of  his  wife  caused  him 
to  see  the  analogy  between  his  own  condition  and 
that  of  the  infidelity  of  Israel  toward  God.  He  be- 
gan to  understand  the  command  of  Jehovah,  "  Go, 
take  unto  thee  a  wife  of  whoredom  and  children  of 
whoredom,  for  the  land  doth  commit  great  whore- 
dom, departing  from  Jehovah." 10  He  began  to 
realize  that  Israel  is  the  unfaithful  wife,  Jehovah 
the  devoted  husband.  It  gradually  dawned  upon 
him  that  his  people  had  been  untrue  to  God,  and 
that  it  was  his  mission  to  declare  unto  them  the  love 

ioHos.  1:  2. 


80  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

of  God,  and  to  plead  with  them  not  to  desert  the  true 
God  and  go  out  after  false  gods.  In  the  second 
place,  we  have  presented  the  terrible  consequences  re- 
sulting from  the  dissolution  of  the  family.  We  see 
that  social  integrity  depends  on  the  permanence  of 
the  home.  In  an  age  of  moral  decline,  ideals  of  the 
marriage  relation  as  held  and  exemplified  by  Hosea 
were  in  marked  contrast  to  the  common  conceptions 
of  the  age.  He  did  not  lay  down  any  rules  govern- 
ing the  relations  of  members  one  toward  another,  but 
he  described  the  experience  of  a  husband  and  father 
with  right  ideals,  which  he  strongly  contrasted  with 
the  conduct  of  a  wife  and  mother  with  wrong  ideals. 
His  preeminent  social  message  to  his  and  all  future 
ages  is  that  marriage  vows  involve  eternal  obliga- 
tions, and  to  regard  them  lightly  means  to  undermine 
human  society. 

HOSEA'S  SOCIAL  MESSAGE 

The  social  message  in  part  one  of  Hosea  has  been 
sufficiently  indicated  in  the  preceding  paragraph. 
In  the  second  division  of  his  book  (chapters  four  to 
fourteen)  we  find  a  category  of  social  wrongs  on  the 
part  of  the  people  that  indicates  the  deepest  moral 
depravity  and  the  greatest  disregard  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  social  justice.  The  order  of  treatment 
leads  us  to  believe  that  the  decay  in  family  integrity, 
of  which  his  own  domestic  tragedy  was  an  example, 
may  have  been  regarded  as  the  source  of  most  of  the 
social  derelictions  that  came  upon  the  people  of  Is- 
rael. The  array  is  an  imposing  one.  Chapter 
seven  is  literally  a  summary  of  a  nation's  social  de- 
feats, and  in  itself  supplies  a  study  in  social  pathol- 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  81 

ogy.  But  this  chapter  alone  does  not  comprehend 
all  the  social  diseases  with  which  Israel  was  afflicted. 

George  Adams  Smith  ll  thus  describes  the  social 
conditions  of  Israel  at  this  time :  "  It  is  not  only, 
as  in  Amos,  the  sins  of  the  luxurious,  of  them  that 
are  at  ease  in  Zion,  which  were  exposed;  also  literal 
bloodshed ;  highway  robbery  with  murder,  abetted 
by  the  priests ;  12  *  the  thief  breaketh  in  and  the  rob- 
ber-troop maketh  a  raid/  "  13  Sanders  and  Kent 14 
thus  describe  these  conditions :  "  Go  into  any  of 
their  cities, —  as,  for  example,  Gilead, —  and  you 
may  see  the  bloody  footprints  of  the  murderer ;  as- 
sassins lie  in  wait  for  their  victims ;  and,  greater  hor- 
ror still,  on  the  road  to  Shechem  a  band  of  priests 
are  carrying  on  organized  highway  robbery.  A 
gross  licentiousness  also  is  corrupting  all  the  people 
of  Israel.  .  .  .  Note  also  the  wickedness  and  the 
treachery  which  is  openly  countenanced  in  the  court. 
A  consuming  passion  inflames  all.  You  are,  alas, 
familiar  with  the  sickening  picture  of  the  king, 
shamelessly  holding  court  attended  by  drunken,  un- 
scrupulous cut-throats,  waiting  only  for  a  favorable 
opportunity  to  murder  their  royal  master,  who  him- 
self has  mounted  the  throne  by  the  use  of  the  as- 
sassin's knife." 

The  prophet  was  not  without  hope  for  the  people 
of  Israel,  although  he  denounced  their  evil  ways  in 
the  most  scathing  terms.  He  still  felt  the  effective 
power  of  religion.  Hosea  did  not  complain  that  the 
people  were  without  religion,  but  that  their  religion 

""11" Twelve  Prophets"  ("Expositor's  Bible"),  Vol.  I,  p.  216. 
12  Hos.  6:  8-9. 
isHos.  7:  1. 
14  "The  Message  of  the  Earlier  Prophets,"  p.  62. 


82  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

was  ineffective,  because  insincere  and  formal.  They 
could  not  get  the  lesson,  "  /  will  have  mercy  and  not 
sacrifice" 15  Sanctuaries  and  sacrifices  have  no 
meaning  except  as  they  symbolize  the  love  and  sac- 
fice  of  God,  and  impel  men  thereby  to  live  nobler 
lives.  "  Mercy,"  to  the  prophet,  "  may  be  said  to 
concern  religion,  morality,  or  philanthropy.  It  has 
to  do  with  all  because  in  his  view  these  are  only  dif- 
ferent aspects  of  the  same  life.  He  met  a  religion 
that  was  divorced  from  morality  and  philanthropy 
and  he  refused  to  acknowledge  that  this  was  a  reli- 
gion in  any  sense."  The  prophets  never  conceived 
that  religion  and  morality  could  be  separated,  and 
Hosea  was  no  exception  to  the  rule. 

But  this  prophet  could  not  harmonize  piety  and 
patriotism  in  the  national  life  of  Israel.  Religion 
could  not  withstand  the  onslaughts  of  worldly  pros- 
perity. The  ideals  of  domestic  life  had  given  place 
to  infidelity.  Untruthfulness,  stealing,  debauchery, 
drunkenness,  and  robbery  had  overcome  the  basic 
virtues  on  which  religion  depended.  The  results 
were  inevitable.  In  722  B.  c.  Samaria  paid  the  pen- 
alty for  unwise  policies  and  immoral  practices.  We 
are  told  16  that  the  king  of  Assyria  besieged  Samaria 
for  three  years,  and  that  at  the  end  of  that  time,  in 
the  ninth  (or  last)  year  of  the  reign  of  Hoshea,  the 
city  fell  and  Israel  was  "  carried  away." 

The  social  teaching  of  Hosea  concerning  Israel  in 
these  closing  days  is  supplemented  by  a  kind  of  ap- 
pendix which  follows  the  historical  record  in  Kings.17 
Their  disobedience  is  described,  their  willingness  to 
go  off  after  false  gods,  and  the  erection  of  high 

6:6.          16  II  Kings  17:  5-6.        "  II  Kings  17:  7-2f 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  83 

places,  as  well  as  the  worship  of  idols,  and  the  author 
does  not  fail  to  tell  of  the  efforts  of  the  prophets  to 
call  them  back  to  the  worship  of  the  true  God,  and 
to  admonish  them  to  forsake  their  evil  ways. 

TOPICS  FOR   REPORTS  AND  INVESTIGATION 

1.  A  Character  Study  of  Hosea. 

2.  A  Contrast  of  Amos  and  Hosea. 

3.  The    History    of   Assyria   in   the    Eighth    Century 
before  Christ. 

4.  The  Literary  Features  of  the  Book  of  Hosea. 

5.  A  Study  of  the  Use  of  the  term  "  Ephraim  "  in  the 
Book  of  Hosea. 

FURTHER  READINGS 

Willett's  "  The  Prophets  of  Israel/'  Chap.  VI,  p.  53 ; 
Petrie's  "  Israel's  Prophets/'  Chap.  IV,  p.  53 ;  Cornill's 
"The  Prophets  of  Israel/'  pp.  44^55;  Kirkpatrick's 
"  The  Decline  of  the  Prophets/'  Lecture  V,  pp.  109-162; 
Chamberlain's  "  The  Hebrew  Prophets/'  Chap.  VIII, 
pp.  89-100;  Copass'  "The  Message  of  Hosea";  San- 
ders and  Kent's  "  The  Messages  of  the  Earlier  Proph- 
ets/' pp.  47-76 ;  G.  Campbell  Morgan's  "  Living  Mes- 
sages of  the  Books  of  the  Bible"  (Genesis  to  Malachi), 
pp.  165-179;  Mitchell's  "Ethics  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment/' Chap.  X,  pp.  125-132;  G.  A.  Smith's  "Twelve 
Prophets"  ("Expositor's  Bible/')  Vol.  I;  articles  on 
Hosea  in  Bible  dictionaries  and  encyclopedias. 


CHAPTER  VII 
ISAIAH  OF  JERUSALEM 

The  center  of  prophetic  influence  is  now  to  change 
from  the  capital  of  the  northern  to  that  of  the  south- 
ern kingdom.  All  previous  prophetic  leaders  had 
belonged  to  the  nation  as  a  whole  or  to  Israel  alone. 
Hosea  was  peculiarly  the  prophet  of  Israel.  Un- 
like Amos,  he  seems  to  have  had  no  message  for  other 
countries  contiguous  to  his  own.  The  problems  of 
his  people  absorbed  his  entire  thought.  But  with 
the  fall  of  Samaria,  the  prophetic  influence  of  the 
north  came  to  a  close,  and  our  study  will  now  be 
shifted  to  Jerusalem  as  a  center,  and  to  Isaiah  as  the 
mighty  voice  proclaiming  righteousness  and  hope. 

The  activities  of  Isaiah  extended  over  a  period  of 
about  forty  years  (740—701).  We  are  reminded 
again  that  Samaria  fell  in  72&  B.  c.  Isaiah,  there- 
fore, was  a  contemporary  of  Hosea,  and  doubtless 
knew  much  of  the  moral  and  social  conditions  of  the 
northern  kingdom  in  the  sad  days  just  preceding  the 
fall  of  Samaria,  but  most  of  the  important  work  of 
this  great  prophet  came  after  the  capture  of  Sa- 
maria and  the  fall  of  the  northern  kingdom. 

HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND 

Isaiah  lived  during  the  reigns  of  Uzziah  (or  Aza- 
riah),  Jotham,  Ahaz,  and  Hezekiah.  The  character 

84 


THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  85 

of  Uzziah's  reign  is  recorded  in  Kings  l  and  more 
fully  in  Chronicles.2  He  seems  to  have  been  an  ag- 
gressive king,  for  he  extended  the  possessions  of  the 
kingdom,  erected  public  buildings,  increased  the 
fortifications  of  Jerusalem,  and  constructed  towers 
both  in  the  capital  and  elsewhere  in  his  kingdom. 
He  also  greatly  strengthened  the  standing  army  of 
the  country.  Stock  raising  and  farming  received 
attention  at  his  hands.  The  contraction  of  leprosy 
brought  his  active  reign  to  a  close,  and  gradually  his 
son,  Jotham,  acquired  the  reins  of  government.  Uz- 
ziah  died  in  739  B.  c.,  and  his  son  became  the  sover- 
eign in  his  own  right. 

Jotham  reigned  sixteen  years,3  and  his  reign  was 
an  attempt  to  carry  out  the  policies  of  his  father. 
We  are  told  in  the  brief  record  of  his  reign  in  Kings 
that  he  did  permit  the  local  sanctuaries  to  continue, 
but  these  had  also  been  permitted  to  continue  in  the 
reign  of  his  father. 

Jotham  was  followed  on  the  throne  by  his  son 
Ahaz,  who  was  quite  a  different  type  of  ruler.  He 
reversed  the  order  of  things.  He  desecrated  the 
house  of  the  Lord,  revived  the  rites  of  Baal-worship, 
restored  the  high  places  to  their  former  importance, 
and  even  introduced  the  horrible  heathen  Phoenician 
custom  of  human  sacrifice.  The  brief  record4  of 
these  practices  reveals  an  administration  completely 
devoid  of  the  conscious  responsibility  and  public 
trust  imposed  by  this  king's  forefathers.  The  first 
of  the  Assyrian  invasions  of  Judah  by  Tiglath-pileser 
II  occurred  in  734-732  B.  c.  while  Ahaz  sat  on  the 

H  Kings  15:  1-7.  s  H  Kings  15:  34. 

211  Chron.  26.  *  II  Kings  16:  1-4. 


86  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

throne.  We  cannot  be  certain  of  the  date  of  this 
king's  death,  but  it  was  probably  not  far  from  716 
B.  c.  Happily  Hezekiah  again  reversed  the  order 
of  things,  and,  while  not  a  strong  or  great  leader, 
he  did  administer  his  kingdom  with  a  view  to  the 
restoration  of  the  religion  of  Jehovah.  The  weak- 
ness of  Hezekiah's  reign  will  be  discussed  in  connec- 
tion with  the  political  policies  and  reforms  of  Isaiah. 
It  is  sufficient  to  state  here  that  Sennacherib,  king 
of  Assyria,  overran  Judah  in  701 ;  and,  according 
to  this  Assyrian  king,  forty-six  of  Hezekiah's  cities 
were  taken,  200,150  of  his  people  were  carried  into 
captivity,  and  the  entire  country  ravaged  and  laid 
waste.  Isaiah  also  gives  a  vivid  description  of  the 
siege  of  Jerusalem  during  this  invasion  in  chapters 
thirty-six  and  thirty-seven. 

Judah  had  suffered  the  fate  of  her  kinsman  of  the 
north.  The  reasons  were  also  similar.  Each  had 
been  untrue  to  the  worship  of  Jehovah,  immorality 
had  absorbed  the  vitality  of  the  nation,  and  their 
kings  had  been  devoted  to  their  own  selfish  pleasures 
rather  than  to  patriotic  public  service. 

SKETCH;  OF  ISAIAH 

As  with  most  of  the  prophets,  little  is  known  of  the 
personal  life  of  Isaiah.  He  was  the  son  of  a  certain 
Amoz,5  and  a  native  of  Jerusalem.  Tradition  rep- 
resents him  as  a  member  of  a  royal  family,  but  doubt- 
less this  is  due  to  the  otherwise  unexplainable  fact 
that  he  was  influential  with  the  rulers  and  politi- 
cal leaders  of  his  country,  which  would  have  been 

sisa.  1:  1. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  87 

regarded    as    unusual    under    any    other    condition. 

His  active  service  as  a  prophet  and  servant  of  God 
began  in  739  B.  c. —  the  year  of  the  death  of  King 
Uzziah.  For  the  next  forty  years  he  was  destined 
to  be  a  commanding  figure  in  the  history  of  Judah. 
His  greatest  service  was  rendered  in  the  reigns  of 
Ahaz  and  Hezekiah.  During  the  reign  of  the  former 
he  chided  him  for  arrogant  self-confidence  and  con- 
demned him  for  infidelity  to  public  trust ;  the  latter 
he  advised  concerning  unwise  policies,  and  encour- 
aged when  in  despair.  In  the  language  of  Kirk- 
patrick  6  "  He  was  the  fearless  censor  of  the  faith- 
less and  cowardly  Ahaz,  the  trusted  counselor  of  the 
well-intentioned  though  vacillating  Hezekiah." 

Isaiah  was  married,  and  we  know  of  at  least  two 
of  his  children  because  of  the  significance  of  their 
names.  In  fact,  there  is  importance  attached  to  the 
name  of  Isaiah  also.  His  name  means  "  Jehovah's 
deliverance,"  and  is  important  in  the  light  of  his 
mission  and  the  task  of  the  man.  "  Shear-yashub  " 
is  the  name  of  one  child,7  and  means  "  A  remnant 
shall  return,"  which  is  characteristic  of  the  hope  of 
Isaiah  for  his  people.  We  are  told  that  he  named 
a  son  "  Maher-shalal-hash-baz,"  which  means 
"  Hasten-booty-speed-spoil,"  which  was  a  reminder 
of  the  speedy  downfall  of  Samaria  and  Damascus.8 
We  are  also  told  that  his  wife  was  a  prophetess,9  but 
of  her  prophetic  work  we  know  nothing. 

We  have  no  authentic  record  of  the  manner  or 
date  of  Isaiah's  death.  He  probably  survived  the 
conquest  of  Sennacherib  and  his  forces  over  Judah, 

6  "The  Doctrine  of  the  Prophets,"  p.  146. 

7  Isa.  7:  3.  8  Isa.  8:  1-4.  » Isa.  8:  3. 


88  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

but  as  to  just  how  long,  we  have  no  information. 
There  is  a  Jewish  tradition  that  he  lived  until  the 
reign  of  Manasseh  (686-641),  and  that  he  was  put 
to  death  in  a  very  cruel  manner  by  this  king. 

THE  SOCIAL  MESSAGE  OF  ISAIAH 

It  is  thought  best  in  this  discussion  to  cull  the  so- 
cial message  of  Isaiah  from  the  first  thirty-nine  chap- 
ters of  his  book,  leaving  the  other  twenty-seven 
chapters  for  a  second  and  later  study  of  the  subject, 
as  it  is  generally  conceded  by  biblical  scholars  that 
Isaiah  of  Jerusalem  could  not  have  written  these 
latter  chapters.  In  fact,  about  twelve  of  the  chap- 
ters included  in  the  first  thirty-nine  are  usually  not 
attributed  to  Isaiah,  because  they  are  thought  to 
presume  historic  incidents  which  are  later  than 
Isaiah's  time.  These  conclusions,  however,  are 
rather  assumed  in  this  discussion  than  defended,  as 
it  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  study  to  enter  into  a 
discussion  of  controversial  points  which  have  little 
bearing  on  the  social  message  to  be  analyzed. 

Neither  is  it  necessary  specifically  to  discuss  the 
social  message  of  Isaiah  by  epochs.  It  may  be  safely 
concluded  that  the  social  problems  which  attracted 
his  attention  were  vital  matters  during  his  entire 
time.  However,  the  three  great  problems  that  espe- 
cially impressed  him  were  called  to  public  attention 
in  the  early  part  of  his  public  ministry  in  the  reign 
of  Jotham,  and  recorded  in  his  prophecies.10  These 
questions  relate  (1)  to  the  distribution  and  proper 
use  of  land;  n  (2)  the  liquor  question;  12  and  (3) 
the  question  relating  to  the  "  conspicuous  consump- 

lolsa.  2:  5.  "Isa.  5:  8.  12  Isa.  5:  11. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  89 

tion  "  of  women.13  But  these  social  conditions 
were  not  peculiar  to  Jotham's  reign.  They  were 
doubtless  matters  of  serious  social  concern  during 
the  entire  period  covered  by  the  life  of  the  great 
prophet.  For  instance,  the  contemptuous  severity 
with  which  he  pictures  the  thoughtless  and  idle  women 
as  recorded  in  chapter  thirty-two,  verses  nine  to 
twelve,  came  at  a  much  later  date  than  the  denuncia- 
tion referred  to  in  chapter  five,  but  evidently  this 
was  a  perpetual  social  problem  that  gave  this  re- 
former great  concern  throughout  his  public  min- 
istry. 

George  Adam  Smith  14  thus  describes  and  com- 
ments on  the  two  leading  sins  against  which  Isaiah 
proclaimed  :  "  It  is  with  remarkable  persistence  that 
in  every  civilization  the  two  main  passions  of  the 
human  heart,  love  of  wealth  and  love  of  pleasure,  the 
instinct  to  gather  and  the  instinct  to  squander,  have 
sought  precisely  these  two  forms  denounced  by  Isaiah 
in  which  to  work  their  social  havoc  —  appropriation 
of  the  soil  and  indulgence  in  strong  drink.  Every 
civilized  community  develops  sooner  or  later  its  land- 
question  and  its  liquor-question."  With  equal  per- 
sistence do  we  find  in  every  country  a  tendency  on 
the  part  of  women  to  yield  to  the  vanity  of  dress 
and  to  covet  idle  ease  and  needless  extravagance. 
Isaiah's  indictments  of  all  three  of  these  social  sins 
are  matters  of  interest,  importance,  and  universal 
application. 

He  brings  home  to  the  women  the  folly  of  their 
extravagance  by  giving  an  inventory  of  the  jewelry 


3:  11. 
"Isaiah"    ("Expositor's  Bible"),  Vol.  I,  p.  41. 


90  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

and  the  costumes  worn  in  fashionable  circles :  "  Tink- 
ling ornaments  about  their  feet,  and  their  cauls,  and 
their  round  tires  like  the  moon,  the  chains  and  the 
bracelets,  and  the  mufflers,  the  bonnets,  and  the  orna- 
ments of  the  legs,  and  the  headbands,  and  the  ear- 
rings, the  rings,  and  nose  jewels,  the  changeable 
suits  of  apparel,  and  the  mantles,  and  the  wimples, 
and  the  crisping  pins,  the  glasses,  and  the  fine  linen, 
and  the  hoods  and  the  veils."  15  He  also  describes 
with  severe  language  the  conduct  of  these  women 
upon  the  streets  of  the  capitol :  "  The  daughters  of 
Zion  are  haughty,  and  walk  with  stretched-forth- 
necks  and  wanton  eyes,  walking  and  mincing  as  they 
go,  and  making  a  tinkling  with  their  feet."  16  In 
another  place,  he  pleads  with  these  society  women  to 
hear  his  voice  and  predicts  that  "  many  days  and 
years  shall  ye  be  troubled,  ye  careless  women,  for  the 
vintage  shall  fail,  the  gathering  shall  not  come." 

Isaiah  seems  to  have  attributed  two  besetting  sins 
to  the  women  of  his  day.  Luxury  had  developed  a 
spirit  of  barbaric  display  and  immodest  egotism. 
Idleness  had  produced  an  indifference  to  the  rights 
of  others.  The  sense  of  social  responsibility  was 
lost.  Arrogance  was  coupled  with  greed.  Sympa- 
thy for  suffering  humanity  had  disappeared.  In 
such  a  soil,  pride  of  conquest  at  any  cost,  personal 
revenge  for  neglect,  dissimulation  in  love,  and  his- 
torical sentimentality  find  all  the  constituents  for 
rapid  growth.  This  condition  had  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  Amos  in  his  day,  and  caused  him  to  apply 
one  of  his  most  cutting  phrases  in  describing  these 
women  as  the  kine  of  Bashan  —  a  drove  of  cows, 

islsa.  3:  18ff.  16  Isa.  3:  16. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  91 

stupid,  heedless  of  things  under  their  feet  and 
thoughtless  of  the  morrow.  Isaiah,  with  the  same 
discrimination,  but  in  greater  detail,  describes  the 
women  of  Judah,  and  warns  them  of  the  consequences 
of  their  conduct. 

Isaiah's  second  great  indictment  was  against  the 
privileged  class  that  had  acquired  possession  of  vast 
estates  by  dispossessing  the  poor  yeomen  of  their 
ancestral  possessions.  Against  such  injustice  the 
prophet  pronounces  woe:  "  Woe  unto  them  that 
join  house  to  house,  that  annex  field  to  field,  and  ye 
are  left  to  dwell  alone  in  the  midst  of  the  land."  1T 
Isaiah  does  not  pause  to  explain  the  method  by  which 
this  was  accomplished.  He  is  more  concerned  with 
the  effects.  We  know,  however,  from  Amos  and 
Micah,  that  it  was  accomplished  by  unjust  evictions 
and  disinheritances.  History  has  repeated  this  so- 
cial injustice  many  times.  Two  such  cases  will  illus- 
trate. In  the  Roman  struggle  between  the  patricians 
and  plebeians,  there  was  finally  passed,  over  the 
strongest  protest  of  the  patricians,  an  agrarian  law, 
drawn  by  Spurius  Cassius,  which  compelled  a  just 
distribution  of  the  public  lands  and  prevented  the 
noble  class  from  dispossessing  the  plebeians.  The 
earlier  licinian  laws  (367  B.  c)  and  the  later  agrarian 
laws  of  Tiberius  Gracchus  (133  B.  c.)  had  a  similar 
purpose.  Turning  from  Rome  to  England,  we  find 
that  this  has  been  an  important  problem  from  very 
early  times.  We  are  told  by  Green  that  "  riots 
against  enclosures,  of  which  we  first  hear  in  the  time 
of  Henry  the  Sixth  and  which  became  a  constant  fea- 
ture of  the  Tudor  period,  are  indications  not  only 

i7lsa.  5:  8. 


92  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

of  perpetual  strife  going  on  in  every  quarter  between 
the  land  owners  and  the  smaller  peasant  class,  but 
of  a  mass  of  social  discontent  which  was  to  seek  con- 
stant outlets  in  violence  and  revolution." 

With  a  vision  infinitely  clearer  than  that  pos- 
sessed by  modern  social  and  political  reformers, 
Isaiah  saw  the  results  of  such  a  land  policy.  To 
him  there  could  be  but  one  result  —  depopulation  and 
diminished  production.  "  Many  houses  shall  be  deso- 
late, even  great  and  fair,  without  inhabitant.  Yea, 
ten  acres  of  vineyard  shall  yield  one  bath,  and  the 
seed  of  an  homer  shall  yield  an  ephah."  18 

Isaiah  turns  from  the  social  sin  of  land  disposses- 
sion to  that  of  intemperance,  and  the  heaviest  woe 
of  all  is  pronounced  upon  "  those  that  rise  up  early 
in  the  mornmg,  that  they  may  follow  strong  drink; 
that  continue  until  night,  titt  wine  19  inflame  them."  20 
"  Therefore  as  the  fire  devoureth  the  stubble,  and  the 
flame  consumeth  the  chaff,  so  their  root  shall  be  as 
rottenness,  and  their  blossom  shall  go  up  as  dust."  21 
Language  could  hardly  be  stronger  than  this.  The 
comment  of  George  Adams  Smith  22  on  this  passage 
is  worthy  of  recall : 

"  The  crusade  against  drink  is  not  the  novel  thing 
that  many  imagine  who  observe  only  its  late  revival 
among  ourselves.  In  ancient  times  there  was  scarcely 
a  state  in  which  prohibitive  legislation  of  the  most 
stringent  kind  was  not  attempted,  and  generally  car- 
is  Isa.  5:  9,  10. 

19  The  Hebrew  word  here  translated  wine  is  yayin.    That  it 
was  an  intoxicant  is  proved  by  its  use  in  such  passages  as  Gen. 
9:  20-21;  19:  32-33,  and  I  Sam.  1:  14.     The  word  recurs  about 
150   times   in   the   Old   Testament.          20  isa.  5:  11  ff. 
21  Isa.  5:  24>.  22  Isa.  i-xxxix,  p.  45. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  93 

ried  out  with  a  thoroughness  more  possible  under 
despots  than  where,  as  with  us,  the  slow  consent  of 
public  opinion  is  necessary.  A  horror  of  strong 
drink  has  in  every  age  possessed  those  who,  from  their 
position  as  magistrates  or  prophets,  have  been  able 
to  follow  for  any  distance  the  drift  of  social  life. 
Isaiah  exposes  as  powerfully  as  ever  any  of  them  did 
in  what  the  peculiar  fatality  of  drinking  lies." 

TOPICS  FOR   REPORTS  AND  INVESTIGATION 

1.  The  Relations  of  Israel  and  Judah  during  the  Last 
Half  of  the  Eighth  Century. 

2.  A  Study  of  the  Reign  of  Uzziah. 

3.  The  Call  of  Isaiah  to  his  Prophetic  Work. 

4.  The  Social  Effects  of  Assyrian  Invasion  on  Judah. 

5.  A  Study  of  the  Authorship  of  the  Book  of  Isaiah. 

FURTHER  READINGS 

G.  A.  Smith's  "Isaiah"  I-XXXIX  ("Expositor's 
Bible  ")  ;  Willett's  "  The  Prophets  of  Israel/'  Chap.  VII; 
Kirkpatrick's  "  The  Doctrine  of  the  Prophets/'  Chapter 
VI,  pp.  142-204;  Sanders  and  Kent's  "  The  Messages  of 
the  Earlier  Prophets/'  pp.  79-105;  Cornill's  "The 
Prophets  of  Israel/'  pp.  56-70;  Kent's  "  The  Kings  and 
Prophets  of  Israel  and  Judah "  ("  The  Historical  Bi- 
ble "),  pp.  131-160;  Chamberlain's  "The  Hebrew 
Prophets,"  Chap.  IX,  pp.  103-127;  Buttenwieser's 
"The  Prophets  of  Israel,"  Chap.  V,  pp.  254-287;  Pe- 
trie's  "Israel's  Prophets,"  Chap.  VI,  pp.  98-113;  arti- 
cles on  Isaiah  in  Bible  dictionaries  and  encyclopedias. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  POLITICAL  REFORMS  AND   POLICIES 
OF  ISAIAH 

It  is  difficult  to  draw  accurately  the  line  between 
the  intra-social  problems  of  society,  and  the  political 
policies  that  primarily  concern  the  welfare  of  the 
state.  In  fact,  the  social  problems  in  every  society 
are  constantly  demanding  political  consideration  and 
governmental  action.  In  the  early  stages  of  social 
reform,  we  invariably  find  that  moral  reformers  are 
uniformly  condemned  by  the  political  obstructionist 
on  the  ground  that  moral  questions  should  not  be  the 
subject  of  political  action.  This  has  been  a  stock 
argument  on  the  part  of  those  who  have  opposed  all 
regulative  and  prohibitive  measures  concerning  the 
sale  of  intoxicating  liquors.  It  has  been  contended 
that  this  is  a  social  and  moral  question  that  lies  out- 
side the  pale  of  legal  regulation  and  political  consid- 
eration. In  the  evolution  of  moral  ideals  every  so- 
cial question  has  been  opposed  by  some  on  this 
ground. 

As  difficult  as  the  line  of  demarcation  is  to  draw, 
it  is  well  to  give  emphasis  to  the  political  policies  of 
Isaiah,  for  his  statesmanship  is  as  evident  as  his  moral 
teaching,  and  the  two  cannot  be  separated  except  for 
emphasis.  He  has  been  called  "  the  greatest  political 

power  in  Israel  since  David."     It  is  certainly  true 

94 


THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  95 

that  no  other  prophet  of  Israel  ever  influenced  na- 
tional affairs  to  the  extent  that  Isaiah  did.  In  fact, 
Isaiah  is  the  first  of  the  writing  prophets  to  wield 
large  influence  on  governmental  policies. 

POLITICAL  VISION  REVEALED  BY  PARABLE 

We  see  the  political  promise  of  Isaiah  revealed  in 
his  parable  of  the  vineyard.1  He  describes  with  great 
beauty  a  vineyard  that  had  been  developed  with  the 
greatest  care  and  culture  by  the  vinedresser,  but 
after  all  this  care,  to  the  surprise  and  pain  of  the 
caretaker,  it  "  brought  forth  wild  grapes."  By  easy 
but  sure  steps,  the  prophet  leads  to  the  teaching  of 
the  parable  which  he  explains :  "  For  the  vineyard 
of  Jehovah  of  hosts  is  the  house  of  Israel,  and  the 
men  of  Judah  his  pleasant  plants ;  and  he  looked  for 
justice,  but  behold  oppression,  for  righteousness, 
but  behold  a  cry."  2 

The  vision  of  Isaiah  in  this  parable  lies  at  the  basis 
of  his  political  ideals.  Citizenship  involves  the  pro- 
foundest  responsibilities,  which  are  determined  by 
the  right  relation  to  God,  and  we  cannot  expect  the 
best  fruit  of  civilization  to  come  to  any  nation  of 
people  unless  they  strive  for  the  best  things  under 
the  consciousness  that  God  expects  the  best  from  his 
people.  The  parable  has  an  eternal  message  for 
every  nation  that  seeks  justice,  righteousness,  and 
national  prosperity. 

PRACTICAL  STATESMANSHIP  OF  ISAIAH 

(1)    IN    THE    REIGN    OF    AHAZ 

The  political  theory  of  Isaiah  as  announced  in  the 
Usa.  5:  1-7.  2  Isa.  5:  7. 


96  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

parable  of  the  vineyard  was  soon  to  give  way  to  its 
application  in  the  practical  affairs  of  the  nation. 
The  political  wisdom  of  Isaiah  begins  to  be  revealed 
in  chapter  seven.  The  historic  facts  which  made 
political  action  necessary  are  summarized  in  the  first 
verse :  "  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  days  of  Ahaz, 
the  son  of  Jotham,  the  son  of  Uzziah,  king  of  Judah, 
that  Rezin  the  king  of  Syria,  and  Pekah  the  son  of 
Remaliah,  king  of  Israel,  went  up  toward  Jerusalem 
to  war  against  it,  but  could  not  prevail  against  it." 
But  before  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  had  actually  begun, 
and  while  Ahaz  was  inspecting  the  water  supply  of 
the  city,  Isaiah  gave  Ahaz  assurance  that  the  siege 
would  fail.  The  prophet's  words  are  full  of  assur- 
ance :  "  Take  heed,  be  quiet,  fear  not,  neither  be 
faint-hearted  for  the  two  tails  of  these  firebrands." 
This  assurance  was  doubtless  given  because  Isaiah 
realized  the  fatal  policy  that  was  already  taking  form 
in  the  mind  of  the  king  —  that  is,  an  alliance  with 
Tiglath-pileser,  then  king  of  Assyria.  But  even  this 
did  not  satisfy  Ahaz,  and  the  prophet  took  another 
step  in  an  effort  to  dissuade  him.  He  was  told  by 
the  prophet  that  Jehovah  was  revealing  the  results 
of  the  siege  in  advance.  But  all  efforts  failed,  and 
Ahaz  entered  upon  the  policy  of  appealing  to  As- 
syria.3 

3  Cornill  does  not  quite  share  this  opinion  as  to  the  lack  of 
wisdom  of  Ahaz.  "  One  may  think  of  Ahaz  as  one  likes.  But 
political  foresight  he  certainly  possessed,  as  the  issue  proved. 
By  his  remaining  loyal  and  unwavering  in  his  unsought  sub- 
mission to  Assyria,  he  brought  it  about  that  whilst  one  after 
another  of  the  neighboring  kingdoms  sank,  whilst  war  and 
uproar,  murder  and  plunder  raged  about  him,  Judah  re- 
mained quiet,  a  peaceful  island  on  a  storm-tossed  sea."  — 
"The  Prophets  of  Israel,"  p.  64. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  97 

Isaiah  was  not  ready  to  give  up,  however ;  neither 
did  he  cease  his  efforts  to  prevent  the  alliance  with 
Assyria.  He  immediately  appealed  from  the  king 
directly  to  the  people.  Chapter  eight  contains  po- 
litical addresses  which  were  delivered  about  the  same 
time  as  those  addressed  to  the  king  in  chapter  seven. 
We  hear  this  statesman  of  God  saying  to  his  people : 
"  Take  counsel  together,  and  it  shall  come  to  naught ; 
speak  the  word,  and  it  shall  not  stand;  for  God  is 
with  us."  He  realized  that  sovereign  power  after 
all  resided  in  the  people,  and  they  could  annul  an  un- 
wise policy,  even  of  a  ruling  king.  But  his  appeal 
to  the  people  was  also  in  vain.  The  foreign  policy 
of  the  king  was  shared  in  by  the  people,  for  they  could 
see  only  the  immediate  danger ;  the  ultimate  peril  was 
too  remote  for  the  Jewish  nation  to  realize  at  this 
time.  In  the  light  of  subsequent  history  we  can  real- 
ize the  far-sighted  statesmanship  of  Isaiah. 

The  scholarly  words  of  George  Adams  Smith  5  on 
the  real  meaning  of  chapters  seven  and  eight  are  sug- 
gestive :  "  As  the  king  for  his  unworthiness  has  to 
give  place  to  the  Messiah,  so  the  nation  for  theirs 
have  to  give  place  to  the  church.  In  the  seventh 
chapter  the  king  was  found  wanting,  and  the  Messiah 
promised.  In  the  eighth  chapter  the  people  are 
found  wanting,  and  the  prophet,  turning  from  them, 
proceeds  to  form  the  church  among  those  who  ac- 
cept the  word  which  king  and  people  have  refused." 

(2)     IN    THE    REIGN    OF    HEZEKIAH 

The  most  brilliant  period  in  the  ministry  of  Isaiah 
came  in  the  reign  of  Hezekiah.  In  a  religious  way 

*Isa.  8:  10.  5  Isa.  i-xxxix,  p.  126. 


98  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

the  king  made  important  reforms.  He  repaired  the 
house  of  the  lord  6  and  required  the  priests  to  sanc- 
tify themselves,7  and  ordered  them  to  cleanse  the 
house  of  God.8  He  then  invited  all  the  people 
throughout  all  his  kingdom  to  come  up  to  Jerusalem 
for  the  purpose  of  observing  the  Passover.  We  are 
not  advised  as  to  the  part  played  by  Isaiah  in  these 
religious  activities,  but  we  can  reasonably  infer  that 
he  took  a  prominent  part,  for  the  personal  qualities 
of  Hezekiah  would  not  justify  the  conclusion  that  he 
was  the  sole  leader  in  such  far-reaching  reforms. 

But  when  we  turn  from  religious  matters  to  those 
of  a  political  character,  we  more  clearly  see  the  in- 
fluence exerted  and  the  policies  advocated  by  Isaiah. 
During  the  earlier  part  of  the  reign  of  Hezekiah 
several  important  historic  events  had  occurred  which 
have  a  direct  bearing  upon  the  political  history  of 
Judah.  Shalmaneser  IV  (B.  c.  727)  had  succeeded 
Tiglath-pileser  on  the  Assyrian  throne,  and  he  in 
turn  was  now  succeeded  by  Sargon,  who  had,  after 
three  years  of  siege,  captured  Samaria  in  722  B.  c. 
On  the  south  great  changes  had  also  taken  place. 
Egypt  had  been  conquered  by  Shebek  I,  called  Sa- 
baco  by  the  Greeks.  He  established  his  capital  at 
Memphis,  and  immediately  began  to  make  an  attempt 
to  unite  all  the  kingdoms  on  or  about  the  eastern 
Mediterranean  against  Assyria. 

While  these  events  were  occurring,  there  was 
gradually  growing  up  in  Jerusalem  a  strong  senti- 
ment in  favor  of  an  alliance  with  Egypt.  Just  as 
Isaiah  had  opposed  the  alliance  with  Assyria,  he  now, 

«  II  Chron.  29 :  3.  8  H  Chron.  29 : 15. 

711  Chron.  29:5. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  99 

with  equal  fervor,  opposed  the  alliance  with  Egypt, 
and,  perhaps,  for  similar  reasons.  He  regarded  such 
an  alliance  as  bad  politics,  and  he  traced  all  bad  pol- 
itics to  bad  religion.  All  the  prophet's  discourses 
recorded  in  chapters  twenty-eight  to  thirty-one  deal 
with  this  one  issue.  Woe  is  pronounced  upon  those 
"  that  set  out  to  go  down  into  Egypt,  and  have  not 
asked  at  my  mouth;  to  strengthen  themselves  in  the 
strength  of  Pharaoh,  and  to  take  refuge  in  the  shadow 
of  Egypt."  9  So  sincere  is  Isaiah  in  the  conviction 
that  the  policy  is  unsound  that  he  prophesies, 
"  Therefore  shall  the  strength  of  Pharaoh  be  your 
shame,  and  the  trust  in  the  shadow  of  Egypt  your 
confusion."  10 

Isaiah  seems  to  have  been  more  successful  in  this 
contest  than  he  had  been  when  opposing  the  alliance 
with  Assyria.  Judah  did  not  prove  disloyal  to  her 
agreement  with  Assyria.  The  wisdom  of  following 
the  prophet's  counsel  was  soon  to  be  realized.  Sar- 
gon  inflicted  a  terrible  defeat  upon  Sabaco  in  720  B.  c. 
in  the  battle  of  Raphia,  and  nine  years  later  Sargon 
again  appeared  in  Palestine  to  put  down  a  rebellion 
of  some  of  the  other  states  that  had  been  induced  to 
form  an  alliance  with  Egypt,  but,  due  to  the  wise 
statesmanship  of  Isaiah,  the  Jewish  people  were  left 
unmolested  until  after  the  death  of  Sargon,  when 
Hezekiah  attempted  to  throw  off  the  Assyrian  yoke. 
Isaiah  continued  to  be  the  adviser  of  the  king  of 
Judah  during  the  rebellion  against  Sennacherib,  and 
his  most  useful  public  service  came  during  this  sad 
period.  But  no  new  political  policy  grew  out  of  the 
changing  order  of  things.  Isaiah's  chief  task  con- 

»Isa.  30:2.  iolsa.  30:3. 


100  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

sisted  in  encouraging  the  king,  and  giving  him  the 
full  benefit  of  his  ripe  experience  and  wisdom. 

POLITICAL  ATTITUDE  TOWARD  COMMERCE 

Isaiah  had  resisted  a  political  alliance  with  either 
Assyria  or  Egypt.  He  had  felt  that  no  compromise 
should  be  made  with  any  nation  that  worshiped  false 
gods,  and  that  it  was  the  eternal  work  of  Judah  to 
seek  to  keep  the  religion  of  Jehovah  pure.  He  now 
turns  to  the  consideration  of  an  entirely  different 
kind  of  an  alliance,  an  alliance  for  commercial  gain 
and  mercenary  advantage.  In  chapter  twenty-two, 
which  was  proclaimed  about  702  B.  c.,  we  have,  in 
Isaiah's  chapter  on  Tyre,  one  of  the  prophet's  ripest 
and  most  profound  discussions  of  a  question  which 
has  now  grown  to  be  the  foremost  question  of  the 
world  —  that  is,  the  regulation  and  control  of  the 
commercial  spirit. 

The  task  of  Isaiah  was  to  take  hold  of  all  the  forces 
of  the  world  and  to  direct  them  in  such  a  way  as  to 
make  them  contribute  to  the  religion  of  God.  Chap- 
ter twenty-three,  therefore,  does  not  represent 
Isaiah's  repudiation  of  the  commercial  spirit  of  Tyre, 
but  rather  a  warning  concerning  the  danger  of  the 
mercenary  spirit  which  too  often  accompanies  it. 
So  we  have  the  old  prophet  commending  the  enter- 
prise and  commercial  prestige  of  Tyre  in  these  en- 
thusiastic words,  "  And  on  great  waters  the  seed  of 
the  Shihor,  the  harvest  of  the  river,  was  her  revenue ; 
and  she  is  the  mart  of  nations."  n 

We  would  expect  to  hear  these  commendatory 
words  of  the  Jews  in  later  historic  periods,  for  they 

ulsa.  33:  3. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         101 

were  destined  to  become  the  greatest  and  most  in- 
genious traders  and  merchants  of  the  world,  but  at 
this  time  commerce  was  a  new  thing  to  the  Jewish 
people,  and  it  is  a  significant  fact  in  history  that 
commerce  had  grown  vast  enough  in  any  country  to 
attract  attention  and  to  impress  jthe  imagination 
of  a  Jewish  prophet  as  early  as  the  age  pi  Isaiah. 
It  is  perhaps  more  remarkable /that  ^ay  man^i  that 
period  could  see  the  dangers  of  an  unrestricted  com- 
mercial spirit.  Could  there  be  danger  in  it  for  the 
Jewish  people?  They  were  an  inland  people  and  at 
that  time  commerce  was  impossible  except  for  mari- 
time nations.  Isaiah  probably  felt  that  the  suprem- 
acy given  to  Tyre  through  commerce  might  finally 
cause  this  nation  to  seek  a  political  alliance  with 
Judah  in  her  efforts  to  gain  larger  control  of  the 
commerce  over  Assyria  and  other  neighboring  coun- 
tries. Therefore,  he  saw  fit  to  commend  the  good 
things  that  this  city  had  done,  but  he  was  determined 
that  Judah  was  not  to  fail  to  observe  the  dangers. 

The  commercial  spirit  has  the  fundamental  weak- 
ness that  it  often  has  no  higher  aim  than  that  of 
financial  profit.  It  is  constantly  in  danger  of  mak- 
ing men  the  means  rather  than  the  end ;  it  loses  sight 
of  the  relative  importance  of  things.  The  spirit, 
therefore,  that  makes  all  things  subservient  to  the 
one  end,  which  may  be  summed  up  as  the  desire  for 
profit,  was  condemned  by  Isaiah,  and  to  this  spirit 
he  gave  a  very  ugly  name, —  the  spirit  of  the  harlot. 
The  man  or  the  nation  that  is  absorbed  by  this  spirit, 
is  doomed  to  destruction.  As  much  as  the  prophet 
admired  thrift,  he  felt  compelled  to  reveal  the  fate 
of  Tyre,  for  she  had  fallen  into  this  venal  spirit. 


102  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

She  is  doomed  to  pay  the  penalty  for  transgression. 
"  Tyre  shall  be  forgotten  seventy  years,"  the  prophet 
predicts,  and  then,  carrying  out  the  figure  of  the 
harlot,  "  after  the  end  of  seventy  years  it  shall  be 
unto  Tyre  as  in  the  song  of  the  harlot.  Take  a  harp, 
go  about  the  city,  thou  harlot  that  hast  been  forgot- 
ten; make  sweet  melody,  sing  many  songs,  that  thou 
mayest :  be  remeiiibered."  1 2 

THE  BASIS  OF  ISAIAH'S  POLITICAL  MOTIVES 

The  consummation  of  the  public  ministry  of  Isaiah 
was,  however,  at  hand.  The  revelation  of  the  guid- 
ing principle  of  his  public  life  was  to  be  made  known 
to  the  people.  He  had  always  held  that  Assyria  was 
a  rod  in  the  hand  of  God  to  chastise  the  Jewish  peo- 
ple when  they  wandered  away  from  God.13  He  often 
declared  that  the  enemies  of  Judah  would  be  destroyed 
when  they  were  no  longer  needed  as  an  instrument  in 
God's  hands  to  effect  a  complete  social  and  moral 
reformation  among  the  people  of  God.14  We  can 
now  see  why  he  was  so  bitterly  opposed  to  Judah's 
forming  foreign  alliances.  Judah  needed  to  resist 
any  political  influence  that  would  make  it  easy  for 
her  to  yield  to  lower  religious,  social,  or  moral  stand- 
ards, and  this  would  be  the  danger  that  would  result 
from  political  affiliation.  The  people,  in  their  blind- 
ness, could  not  see  all  this,  but  a  demonstration  which 
was  more  than  convincing  was  to  come  near  the  close 
of  the  old  prophet's  life. 

Jerusalem  had  been  invested  by  Sennacherib,  and 

to  escape  a  siege  Hezekiah  had  paid  the  Assyrian 

king  a  large  tribute,  and  had  withdrawn  to  Lachish, 

12  Isa.  23:  15-16.       is  ISa.  10:  5.       "  Isa.  14:  24-27;  17:  12-14. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS          103 

a  short  distance  southwest  of  Jerusalem.  But  in  the 
meantime  Sennacherib  heard  a  rumor  that  Judah  had 
formed  a  secret  alliance  with  Egypt,  and  he  imme- 
diately decided  to  take  no  chances,  but  to  force  the 
surrender  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem.  He  at  once 
moved  his  army  up,  and  began  the  siege  of  the  city. 
The  Assyrian  king  had  violated  every  pledge,  but 
Hezekiah  was  powerless  to  resist,  and  submission 
seemed  inevitable.  In  his  desperation,  the  Jewish 
king  appealed  to  Isaiah.  The  crowning  prophecy  of 
this  part  of  his  ministry  was  then  spoken,  and  his 
social  and  political  teaching  was  soon  to  be  realized. 
"  I  will  send  a  blast  upon  him  [Sennacherib]  ,  and 
he  shall  hear  a  rumor,  and  return  to  his  own  land; 
and  I  will  cause  him  to  fall  by  the  sword  in  his  own 
hand."  15  Hezekiah  was  astounded  by  these  words. 
He  could  not  see  how  this  could  be  true,  as  he  was 
defenseless  and  the  Assyrian  hosts  were  large  and 
fierce.  But  the  king's  faith  in  God  was  renewed  as 
he  thought  of  the  loyalty  of  the  old  prophet  who  had 
been  true  to  the  best  interests  of  his  people,  so  he 
went  up  into  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and  prayed  that 
Judah  might  be  delivered  in  order  that  she  might 
fulfill  her  real  mission,  which  she  had  too  often  been 
prone  to  forget.16  Then  Isaiah  again  assured  the 
king  that  the  Assyrian  hosts  should  not  only  fail  to 
conquer  the  city,  but  that  they  should  not  shoot  one 
arrow  into  it.17 

We  are  told  that  "  an  angel  of  the  Lord  went 
forth,  and  smote  in  the  camp  of  the  Assyrians,  a 
hundred  and  four-score  and  five  thousand."  18  This 


.  37:7.  1?  Isa.  37:  33. 

i«  Isa.  37:20.  is  Isa.  37:35. 


104  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS 

seems  like  an  almost  unbelievable  circumstance,  but 
its  truthfulness  is  borne  out  both  by  biblical  narra- 
tive and  Assyrian  inscription.  What  form  this  mys- 
terious catastrophe  took  we  cannot  judge;  it  may 
have  been  a  pestilence.  But  whatever  form  it  took 
to  human  eyes,  it  was  God  working  out  his  purposes 
through  his  inspired  prophet.  Twenty  years  later 
Sennacherib  died  by  the  hands  of  his  own  sons  while 
worshiping  in  the  temple  of  Nisroch.  The  prophecy 
of  Isaiah  was  now  complete ;  his  political  and  religious 
mission  was  ended.  His  statesmanship  had  exceeded 
that  of  any  other  man  of  any  generation,  for  he  had 
not  only  saved  his  nation,  but  in  saving  it  he  had  pre- 
served that  which  was  far  more  priceless  —  the  na- 
tion's religion. 

TOPICS  FOR   REPORTS  AND  INVESTIGATION 

1.  Isaiah  as  an  Orator. 

2.  A  Study  of  Assyria  in  the  Eighth  Century  before 
Christ. 

3.  The  Commercial  History  of  Tyre. 

4.  Influence  of   Isaiah's   Social  Teaching  on  his   Po- 
litical Policies. 

5.  Isaiah's  Political  Message  for  the  Present  Age. 

FURTHER  READINGS 

Fowler's  "  The  Prophets  as  Statesmen  and  Preach- 
ers," Chaps.  IV  and  V;  Jordan's  "  Prophetic  Ideas  and 
Ideals,"  Chap.  VII;  Kirkpatrick's  "Doctrine  of  the 
Prophets,"  Lecture  6;  Cornill's  "Prophets  of  Israel," 
pp.  56-70;  G.  A.  Smith's  "Isaiah,"  I-XXXIV  ("Ex- 
positor's Bible"),  Chaps.  Ill,  XI,  XIII,  XVII,  and 
XVIII;  articles  on  Isaiah  in  encyclopedias  and  Bible 
dictionaries. 


CHAPTER  IX 
MICAH  THE  MORASTHITE 

The  last  prophet  of  the  eighth  century  was  Micah, 
but  we  shall  find  more  points  of  similarity  between 
him  and  Amos,  whose  public  ministry  closed  more 
than  thirty  years  before  Micah's  began,  than  be- 
tween him  and  Isaiah,  his  great  contemporary. 
Amos  and  Micah  were  born  in  the  country,  in  vil- 
lages about  seventeen  miles  apart,  but  the  home  of 
Amos  was  in  the  midst  of  a  barren  waste,  while  Micah 
lived  in  a  fair  and  fertile  valley.  Like  Amos,  Micah 
traced  the  social  wrongs  of  his  day  to  city-dwellers. 
"  What  is  the  transgression  of  Jacob?  Is  it  not 
Samaria?  And  what  are  the  high  places  of  Juddh? 
Are  they  not  Jerusalem?  "* 

The  isolation  of  country  life  tends  to  develop  an 
individualism  that  is  keenly  sensitive  to  social  wrongs. 
The  material  prosperity  that  came  during  the  reign 
of  Uzziah  had  multiplied  the  wealth  of  the  cities. 
When  surplus  wealth  increases  beyond  the  needs  of 
trade  and  finance,  the  wealthy  class  turns  to  the 
country  as  a  place  for  safe  investment.  With  the 
advantages  that  wealth  bestows,  injustice  is  easy  to 
practice.  This  condition  was  more  apparent  in  Mi- 
cah's day  than  in  the  days  of  Amos.  Therefore 
Micah  denounces  the  avarice  of  the  land-hungry 

iMic.  1:  5. 

]05     ' 


106  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

investor  from  the  city  and  the  dishonest  methods 
employed  to  satisfy  this  hunger.  As  we  have  seen, 
however,  Isaiah  was  not  indifferent  to  the  perils  of 
this  situation. 

HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND 

While  it  is  impossible  to  assign  dates  to  the  period 
of  Micah's  ministry  with  certainty,  it  is  supposed 
that  he  lived  from  about  the  period  marked  by  the 
fall  of  Samaria  (722  B.  c.)  to  the  beginning  of  the 
reign  of  Manasseh  (about  690  B.  c.).  We  are  told 
in  the  introduction  to  his  book  2  that  he  lived  during 
the  reigns  of  Jotham,  Ahaz,  and  Hezekiah.  He  has 
been  called  a  younger  contemporary  of  Isaiah ;  if 
this  be  correct,  he  was  almost  a  complete  contem- 
porary of  this  great  prophet.  We  know  very  little, 
however,  about  his  relation  to  any  reign  except  that 
of  Hezekiah.  We  are  indebted  to  Jeremiah  for  the 
very  interesting  information  that  the  great  reforma- 
tion of  this  great  king  was  due  to  Micah.3  The  evils 
complained  of  by  Micah  were  similar  to  those  that 
characterized  the  speech  of  Isaiah.  Certainly  these 
social  offences  dated  as  far  back  as  the  reign  of 
Jotham,  and  doubtless  the  prophecies  of  Micah  were 
committed  to  writing  not  later  than  the  reign  of 
Ahaz.  The  reigns  of  these  kings  have  been  suffi- 
ciently described  in  the  preceding  studies. 

SKETCH  OF  MICAH 

Few  details  in  the  life  of  Micah  have  come  down  to 
us.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  biblical  record  is 
so  bare  of  authentic  facts  concerning  the  lives  of  the 

2Mic.  1:  1.  sjer.  26:  18,  19. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         107 

great  social  reformers  of  Israel.  We  are  almost  en- 
tirely dependent  for  our  knowledge  of  the  lives  of 
these  great  men  upon  allusions  found  in  their  own 
writings,  and  as  the  prophets  were  so  much  more 
vitally  concerned  about  the  great  truths  they  were 
presenting  than  the  facts  about  themselves,  in  most 
cases  these  personal  incidents  have  been  vague  and 
often  of  doubtful  validity.  As  a  result,  what  we 
know  of  them  has  to  be  constructed  out  of  this  scanty 
record,  with  an  occasional  supplemental  note  from 
Samuel  or  Kings. 

This  is  the  case  with  Micah.  We  know  nothing 
of  his  parentage,  and  are  indebted  to  Jeremiah  for 
the  suggestion  that  Micah  was  probably  a  native  of 
Moresheth,  which  was  located  in  the  midst  of  a  fer- 
tile plain  of  the  Philistines  to  the  southwest  of  Jeru- 
salem, some  seventeen  miles  from  Tekoa,  the  home  of 
Amos.  Moresheth  is  probably  the  same  as  More- 
sheth-Gath  (territory  of  Gath)  which  is  mentioned 
by  Micah  himself.4 

Micah,  like  Hosea,  was  a  simple  countryman,  and 
sympathized  deeply  with  the  rural  population,  whose 
problems  were  familiar  to  him.  He  doubtless  got  his 
message  and  his  consciousness  of  his  public  mission 
from  the  contrast  between  the  conditions  of  the  urban 
and  rural  population  of  Judah. 

It  is  from  this  viewpoint  that  we  get  the  contrast 
between  Isaiah  and  Micah.  The  former  was  a  man 
of  the  city,  and  probably  of  princely  blood,  while  the 
latter  was  of  humble  origin  and.  a  man  of  the  soil. 
This  may  account  for  the  great  difference  in  the 
practical  interests  of  the  two  men.  Micah  was  not 

*Mic.  1:  14. 


108  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

a  statesman;  he  did  not  concern  himself  with  the 
great  political  problems  that  confronted  the  nation, 
as  did  Isaiah.  He  does  not  allude  to  the  foreign 
alliances  which  Judah  made  or  desired  to  make,  and 
which  Isaiah  always  publicly  condemned.  On  the 
other  hand,  Micah  seemed  to  have  a  larger  concep- 
tion of  the  social  evils  of  the  cities.5  The  evils  of 
Judah  seemed  to  him  to  be  concentrated  in  Jerusalem ; 
and  in  the  Northern  Kingdom,  Samaria  appeared  to 
be  the  center  of  national  corruption. 

The  differences  in  the  point  of  view  of  these  two 
prophets  may  be  traced  to  the  differences  in  parent- 
age, education,  environment,  and  vision,  but  it  is  ex- 
tremely interesting  to  observe  that  the  two  men  were 
in  agreement  on  fundamental  social  questions.  First, 
they  had  the  same  fear  concerning  the  social  disorder 
that  must  come  from  conflict  between  class  interests ; 
secondly,  both  had  the  same  passion  for  justice  be- 
tween man  and  man;  and  thirdly,  each  had  intense 
pity  for  the  poor  and  oppressed. 

THE  SOCIAL  MESSAGE  OF  MICAH 

Micah  is  peculiarly  the  prophet  of  social  justice. 
The  heart  of  his  message  is  expressed  in  these  won- 
derful words :  "  He  has  showed  thee,  0  man,  what 
is  good;  and  what  doth  Jehovah  require  of  thee,  but 
to  do  justly,  and  to  love  kindness,  and  to  walk  hum- 
bly with  thy  God?  "  6 

We  have  here  a  three-fold  classification  of  duties 
which  seemed  to  Micah  to  need  emphasis  —  doing 
righteousness,  exercising  love,  and  maintaining  di- 

BMic.  1:  15;  cp.  6:9.  e  Mic.  6:  8. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         109 

vine  fellowship  with  God.  These  duties  are  con- 
trasted with  the  injustice,  oppression,  and  perfunc- 
tory sacrificial  service  of  the  priests.  In  this  brief 
but  powerful  summary,  Micah  defines  man's  duty  to 
his  neighbor  and  to  his  God.  We  may  read  into  this 
verse  also  the  culmination  of  the  teaching  of  his 
predecessors  and  his  great  contemporary.  Amos  had 
given  large  emphasis  to  social  justice;  Hosea  had 
made  loving-kindness  rather  than  sacrifice  7  the  heart 
of  his  message;  while  Isaiah  made  the  majesty  of 
Jehovah  emphatic,  and  insisted  that  humility  towards 
God  was  a  primal  duty  of  man.  We  may  reasonably 
conclude  that  the  details  in  the  social  teachings  of 
Micah  which  follow  are  simply  an  exposition  of  the 
great  principle  quoted  above. 

The  social  program  of  Micah  may  be  summarized 
as  follows : 

(1)  Oppression  and  dispossession  of  the  poor. 
This  was  a  sin  against  which  Isaiah  had  preached 
with  great  vehemence.  "  Woe  unto  them  that  join 
house  to  house,  that  lay  field  to  field,  till  there  be  no 
place,  that  they  may  be  placed  alone  in  the  midst  of 
the  earth."  8  These  were  the  general  terms  used  by 
Isaiah  to  express  the  social  injustice  of  this  thing, 
but  Micah,  who  spoke  as  one  who  lived  among  those 
who  were  suffering  this  injustice,  voiced  the  actual 
process,  and  brings  us  in  contact  with  the  real  state 
of  affairs.  "  Woe  to  them  that  devise  iniquity,  and 
work  evil  upon  their  beds;  when  the  morning  is  light, 
they  practice  it,  because  it  is  in  the  power  of  their 
hands.  And  they  covet  fields,  and  take  them  by  vio- 
lence; and  houses,  and  take  them  away;  so  they  op- 

7  Hos.  6:  6.  slsa.  5:  8. 


110  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

press  a  man  and  his  house,  even  a  man  and  his 
heritage."  We  feel  after  reading  these  words  that 
this  is  no  imaginary  social  wrong,  but  that  we  stand 
face  to  face  with  a  real  situation.  We  see  unscrupu- 
lous men  of  means  as  they  scheme  during  the  hours  of 
night  in  their  palatial  homes  as  to  how,  on  the  mor- 
row, they  may  dispossess  some  poor  but  legal  owner 
of  his  small  ancestral  estate.  It  seems  that  the  sin  of 
Ahab,  in  his  crime  against  Naboth,  had  come  to  be  a 
precedent  which  had  grown  to  be  the  greatest  social 
sin  of  the  generation  of  Micah  and  Isaiah. 

(£)  Corrupt  administration.  Privilege  always 
accomplishes  its  ends  under  the  sanction  of  law.  Le- 
gal agencies  are  used  for  illegal  purposes,  and  in 
oriental  countries,  more  than  in  the  West,  that 
agency  has  been  corrupt  judges.  So  it  was  in  this 
case.  The  judges  were  more  than  willing  to  lend  a 
helping  hand  to  a  powerful  prince  or  rich  nobleman. 
"  The  prince  asketh,  and  the  judge  asketh  for  a  re- 
ward; and  the  great  man  he  uttereth  his  mischievous 
desire:  so  they  wrap  it  up."w  Can  we  conceive  of 
a  more  heartless  practice?  By  this  wicked  and  un- 
just agreement,  women  were  ejected  from  their  happy 
and  comfortable  homes,  and  innocent  children  de- 
prived forever  of  their  birthright.  Micah  thought 
of  these  princes  and  judges  who  ought  to  have  been 
the  defenders  and  protectors  of  the  poor,  but  who, 
instead,  were  actually  robbing  them  of  their  means 
of  existence.  In  his  revolt  at  this  injustice,  he  ut- 
tered one  of  the  strongest  condemnations  that  is  to 
be  found  in  all  literature.  "  They  hate  the  good, 
and  love  the  evil;  who  plucJc  off  their  slcm  from  off 

»Mic.  2:  1-3.  i<>Mic.  7:  3. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         111 

them,  and  their  flesh  from  off  their  bones;  who  also 
eat  the  flesh  of  my  people,  and  flay  their  skin  from 
off  them,  and  they  brake  their  bones,  and  chop  them 
in  pieces,  as  for  the  pot,  and  as  flesh  within  the 
cauldron."  u  George  Adams  Smith,  commenting  on 
these  words,  says :  "  These  words  of  Micah  are  ter- 
ribly strong,  but  there  have  been  many  other  ages 
and  civilizations  than  his  own  of  which  they  have 
been  no  more  than  true.  '  They  crop  us,'  says  a 
French  peasant  of  the  lords  of  the  great  Louis'  time, 
'  as  the  sheep  crops  the  grass.'  '  They  treat  us  like 
their  food,'  said  another  on  the  eve  of  the  revolu- 
tion." 

(3)  In  a  similar  way,  but  on  a  smaller  scale,  the 
creditor   shows   the   same   disregard   of  justice   and 
fair-dealing.     Like  a  robber  at  night  a  man  will  tear 
from  the  body  of  a  neighbor  the  cloak  which  happens 
to  be  a  pledge  for  some  debt,  and  leave  him  unpro- 
tected and  shivering  in  the  street.12 

(4)  The  terrible  consequence  of  all  this  social  cor- 
ruption is  expressed  in  chapter  seven.     Distrust  had 
become  universal.     Faith  among  men  had  ceased  to 
exist.     In  the  most  sacred  relations  of  life  distrust 
had  taken  the  place  of  confidence  and  faith,  and  sus- 
picion pervaded  the  very  atmosphere  of  the  home. 
"  Trust  ye  not  in  a  friend,  put  ye  not  confidence  in  a 
guide;  keep  the  door  of  thy  mouth  from  her  that  lieth 
in  thy  bosom.     For  the  son  dishonoureth  the  father, 
the  daughter  riseth  up  against  her  mother,  the  daugh- 
ter-in-law against  her  mother-in-law;  a  man's  enemies 
are  the  men  of  his  own  house."  13     No  moral  teacher 
ever  penetrated  deeper  into  the  ultimate  consequences 

iiMic.  3:2,  S.  "Mic.  2:8.  is  Mic.  7:5,  6. 


THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS 

of  social  wrong-doing  than  has  Micah  in  these  last 
words.  Confidence  tends  to  break  down  under  the 
weight  of  selfishness  and  injustice,  and  the  anti- 
social classes  are  augmented  by  these  same  conditions. 
When  the  home  becomes  anti-social,  the  basis  of  the 
social  structure  is  disintegrated,  and  the  organization 
of  society  is  dissolved. 

TOPICS  FOR  REPORTS  AND  INVESTIGATION 

1.  Similarity  and  Contrast  of  Micah  and  Isaiah. 

2.  The   Common   Social  Teachings   of  the  first  Four 
writing  Prophets. 

3.  The  Rural  Problems  of  Micah's  Time. 

4.  The  Message  of  Micah  to  our  Times. 

5.  The  Influence  of  Micah's  Environment  on  his  So- 
cial Teachings. 

FURTHER  READINGS 

Willetts'  "  The  Prophets  of  Israel/'  Chap.  VIII,  pp. 
75-80;  G.  A.  Smith's,  "Twelve  Prophets"  ("Exposi- 
tor's Bible"),  Vol.  I,  Chap.  XXIV,  pp.  357-438;  San- 
ders and  Kent's  "  The  Messages  of  the  Earlier  Proph- 
ets," pp.  111-129;  Kirkpatrick's  "The  Doctrine  of  the 
Prophets,"  Chap.  VII,  pp.  203-235;  Chamberlain's 
"The  Hebrew  Prophets,"  Chap.  X,  pp.  128-131;  Jor- 
dan's "  Prophetic  Ideas  and  Ideals,  Chap.  IV,  pp.  45-54; 
Petrie's  "Israel's  Prophets,"  Chap.  VI,  pp.  83-96; 
G.  Campbell  Morgan's  "  Living  Messages  of  the  Books 
of  the  Bible"  (Job  to  Malachi),  pp.  243-255;  articles 
on  Micah  in  Bible  dictionaries  and  encyclopedias. 


CHAPTER  X 

PERIOD  OF  REACTION  AGAINST 
PROPHECY 

The  seventh  century  B.  c.  may  be  divided  into 
three  periods.  First,  the  period  of  reaction  and  per- 
secution during  the  reigns  of  Manasseh,  and  his  son, 
Amon  (about  690  to  639  B.  c.)  ;  secondly,  the  earlier 
years  of  Josiah,  the  revival  of  prophecy  by  Zephaniah 
and  Jeremiah  (639  to  625  B.  c.)  ;  thirdly,  the  decline 
and  fall  of  Nineveh,  and  the  period  of  the  prophecy  of 
Nahum  and  Habakkuk  (625  to  600  B.  c.).  The  pe- 
riod might  naturally  be  made  to  close  with  the  Fall  of 
Jerusalem  in  587—586  B.  c.  This  chapter  will  be  re- 
stricted to  a  brief  review  of  the  events  of  the  first 
period  in  order  that  our  study  may  be  made  continu- 
ous, and  a  better  foundation  laid  for  the  social  mes- 
sages of  the  prophets  of  the  subsequent  periods. 

In  the  preceding  study,  we  learned  that  Micah 
brought  about  the  reformation  in  the  reign  of  Heze- 
kiah,  and  in  the  study  of  the  statesmanship  of  Isaiah 
we  found  that  this  prophet  was  a  leading  factor  in 
the  public  administration  of  this  same  king.  When 
King  Hezekiah  died  it  seems  that  all  prophetic  in- 
fluence passed  away  with  him.  For  the  next  half 
century  the  note  of  prophecy  was  almost  silent.  We 
are  told  in  one  place  *  that  "  The  Lord  spake  by  his 

ill  Kings  21:  10. 

113 


114  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

servants  the  prophets  "  during  the  reign  of  Manasseh, 
but  we  are  left  in  ignorance  concerning  the  names  and 
work  of  these  prophets  during  this  entire  period. 
Perhaps  the  bitter  and  bloody  persecutions  of  the 
prophets  by  Manasseh  drove  these  religious  leaders 
into  seclusion. 

But  are  we  justified  in  the  conclusion  that  these 
were  empty  and  fruitless  years  in  the  field  of  Jewish 
prophecy?  We  know  from  the  reference  above  that 
prophets  lived  during  this  period,  and  some  schol- 
ars 2  of  note  contend  that  some  of  the  passages  at- 
tributed to  Amos  3  and  Micah 4  were  really  spoken 
by  prophets  of  this  age.  Disregarding  these  doubt- 
ful facts,  we  are  reasonably  safe  in  the  conclusion 
that  there  were  men  of  God  who  used  their  enforced 
seclusion,  just  as  did  the  monks  and  friars  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  in  arranging  and  copying  the  great  ad- 
dresses of  the  prophets  of  the  previous  century,  and 
in  codifying  the  laws  handed  down  from  Moses.  Two 
great  results  may  be  traced  to  the  work  of  the  ob- 
scure prophets  of  this  period.  First,  the  excellent 
form  of  the  Deuteronomic  Law,5  which  was  found 
about  621  B.  c.  during  the  reign  of  Josiah,  may  have 
been  due  to  the  persecuted  prophets  and  priests  of 
this  period.  Secondly,  the  telling  messages  of  Zep- 
haniah,  Nahum,  Jeremiah,  and  Habakkuk  may  have 
been  the  fruitage  of  this  half-century  of  spiritual 
meditation  on  the  social  and  religious  problems  of 
Judah. 

2G.  A.  Smith's  "Twelve  Prophets"  ("Expositor's  Bible"), 
Vol.  2,  p.  8;  Sanders  and  Kent's  "Messages  of  the  Earlier 
Prophets,"  p.  188.  *  Mic.  6:  9  to  7:  6. 

3  Amos  5:  26f.  eDeut.  12:  26. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS          115 

THE  REIGN  OF  MANASSEH 

We  cannot  quite  understand  the  reason  for  the 
complete  reversal  of  the  wholesome  policies  of  Heze- 
kiah  by  his  son  Manasseh.  From  the  very  beginning 
of  his  reign,  he  manifested  a  determination  to  undo 
all  the  good  things  that  his  father  had  done.  We 
are  told  that  he  began  to  reign  when  he  was  twelve 
years  of  age,  and  we  are  also  told  that  he  did  that 
which  was  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord.  This  young 
king  probably  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  opponents  of 
Isaiah  and  the  moral  leaders  of  his  time,  and  his  mind 
was  completely  turned  against  the  constructive  in- 
fluences of  his  country  even  before  he  reached  man- 
hood. 

A  summary  of  his  evil  policies  reveals  a  sad  state 
of  affairs.  He  restored  the  idolatrous  shrines  and 
erected  new  altars  for  Baal  throughout  the  land.  He 
desecrated  the  temple  and  erected  images  of  foreign 
gods  in  the  vicinity  of  Jerusalem.  He  went  further 
still.  He  suppressed  as  far  as  possible  the  religion 
of  Jehovah,  and  in  accomplishing  this  task  he  perse- 
cuted the  adherents  of  the  national  religion,  and  shed 
innocent  blood  in  his  zeal  to  destroy  the  national 
faith.  It  was  in  this  unholy  undertaking  that  tradi- 
tion tells  us  that  he  put  Isaiah  to  death.  The  re- 
action against  the  ideals  of  the  prophets  Isaiah  and 
Micah  seemed  complete.  The  faith  of  Jehovah  and 
the  social  progress  of  these  great  moral  leaders 
seemed  to  have  been  absolutely  destroyed.  It  was 
truly  an  age  of  darkness. 

THE  REIGN  OF  AMON 
Manasseh  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Amon,  who  be- 


116  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

gan  to  reign  at  the  age  of  twenty-two.  His  brief 
reign  was  characterized  by  the  same  policies  that  his 
father  had  favored.  He  met  a  tragic  death  at  the 
hands  of  his  servants  in  his  own  house,  and  this  long 
period  of  darkness  was  soon  to  end.  Josiah  was 
destined  to  again  restore  the  principles  of  Hezekiah 
which  had  been  ignored  for  half  a  century. 

FOREIGN  AFFAIRS 

While  these  things  were  taking  place  in  Judah, 
great  events  were  occurring  beyond  her  borders. 
Esarhaddon  (681—668  B.  c.)  had  succeeded  Sennach- 
erib on  the  throne  of  Assyria.  Israel  remained,  as 
before,  an  Assyrian  province,  and  Judah,  as  before, 
remained  the  vassal  of  the  Assyrian  king,  and  sent 
an  annual  tribute  to  Nineveh.  Esarhaddon  was  an 
aggressive  and  ambitious  monarch.  He  subdued  the 
warlike  tribes  of  Northern  Arabia  (675  B.  c.),  and 
during  the  following  year  he  conquered  the  peninsula 
of  Sinai.  He  pressed  on  into  Egypt,  and  about  670 
B.  c.  took  Memphis.  His  death  brought  an  end  to 
his  conquests.  He  was  succeeded  by  Assurbanipal, 
who  lost  Egypt,  but  gained  partial  control  of  sev- 
eral important  positions  along  the  Nile  a  few  years 
later.  But  the  Assyrian  Empire  had  become  too 
vast,  and  a  series  of  revolts  —  of  Egypt,  Arabia, 
Palestine,  Elam,  and  Babylon  —  caused  the  rapid  de- 
cline of  this  imperialistic  empire. 

Two  significant  events  hastened  the  dissolution  of 
this  ambitious  world-empire,  the  terrible  invasion  of 
the  Scythians,  and  the  threatening  consolidation  of 
the  Medes  against  Nineveh.  The  Scythians  broke 
forth  like  a  storm  from  the  coasts  of  the  Black  Sea, 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         117 

and  swept  over  Asia.  For  twenty  years  they  spread 
death  and  terror  over  this  entire  region.  The  Medes 
had  been  conquered  by  Assyria  as  early  as  830  B.  c., 
and  about  a  century  later  Sargon  had  banished  the 
Ten  Tribes  of  Israel  into  a  part  of  their  territory. 
By  650  B.  c.  they  had  become  a  great  people,  and  the 
threatening  invasion,  which  was  finally  made  against 
Nineveh  in  633  B.  c.,  was  feared  by  Assyria  many 
years  before  the  actual  event.  Under  the  weight  of 
all  these  forces  Assyria  was  destined  to  fall.  As 
Cornill  says  in  speaking  of  these  events :  "  The 
Assyrian  world-edifice  cracked  in  all  its  joints." 

It  is  at  this  point  in  the  world's  history  that  the 
note  of  prophecy  is  again  heard  above  the  confusion 
and  conflict  of  nations.  The  voice  of  Zephaniah  is 
the  first  to  pronounce  judgment  on  the  world,  and 
to  remind  Judah  and  Jerusalem  of  the  dangers  and 
penalties  of  social  sins  and  religious  neglect. 

TOPICS  FOR  REPORTS  AND   INVESTIGATION 

1.  Foreign  Relations  during  the  Reign  of  Manasseh. 

2.  The  Consequences  of  Manasseh's  Religious  Policy. 

3.  History  of  Egypt  during  the  Period  of  Manasseh. 

4.  The  Direct  Contribution  of  Chronicles  to  an  Un- 
derstanding of  the  Reign  of  Manasseh. 

5.  The  Scythian  Invasion. 

FURTHER  READINGS 

G.  A.  Smith's  "  Twelve  Prophets "  ("  Expositor's 
Bible"),  Vol.  II,  Chap.  1;  Cormll's  "The  Prophets 
of  Israel,"  pp.  71-80;  Edersheim's  "Bible  History," 
Vol.  VII,  Chap.  14;  "History  of  Assyria  and  Media"; 
Bible  dictionaries  and  encyclopedias. 


CHAPTER  XI 
ZEPHANIAH  OF  JERUSALEM 

The  title  of  the  book  expressly  states  that  Zeph- 
aniah  prophesied  during  the  reign  of  Josiah,  and 
there  is  sufficient  internal  evidence  in  the  book  to 
fully  corroborate  this  fact.  There  is  some  question, 
however,  as  to  whether  his  public  ministry  came  in 
the  early  or  latter  part  of  this  reign.  Probably 
Zephaniah  exercised  his  ministry  before  the  great  re- 
form movement  under  Josiah.  This  would  place  his 
public  ministry  between  630  and  622  B.  c. 

HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND 

In  639  B.  c.  Josiah,  the  twelve-year-old  son  of 
Amon,  was  placed  on  the  throne  as  the  consequence  of 
a  revolution  that  resulted  in  the  death  of  his  father, 
who  had  been  permitted  to  rule  for  only  two  years. 
It  seems  that  this  royal  youth  came  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  prophets  and  moral  leaders  of  Judah,  and 
that  his  education  was  directed  into  sympathy  for  the 
religious  and  social  needs  of  his  time. 

The  greatest  event  in  the  reign  of  Josiah  was  a 
thorough  reformation.  This  included  the  abolition 
of  idolatry,  the  repair  of  the  temple,  the  discovery 
of  the  Book  of  the  Law,  and  the  national  observance 
of  the  passover.  It  seems  that  this  king  was  deter- 
mined to  make  amends  for  all  the  evils  of  his  father 

and  grandfather. 

118 


THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  119 

It  was  while  these  reforms  were  in  progress  that 
the  marauding  hordes  of  Scythians  swept  down  over 
Western  Europe.  Herodotus  l  tells  us  that  they 
advanced  southward  to  the  borders  of  Egypt,  and 
were  only  prevented  from  penetrating  this  country 
through  the  pleadings  and  gifts  of  Psammetichus, 
king  of  Egypt.  For  more  than  twenty  years  they 
overran  and  terrorized  the  whole  of  Western  Asia. 
It  is  highly  probable  that  the  advance  of  these  war- 
like intruders  was  the  occasion  of  the  prophecy  of 
judgment  pronounced  upon  Judah  and  Jerusalem  by 
Zephaniah.  "  The  great  day  of  the  Lord  is  near, 
and  hasteth  greatly  "  2  may  have  been  inspired  by 
this  event.  It  seems  that  Zephaniah's  warning  had 
its  effect,  and  judgment  was  temporarily  averted. 
The  Scythians  swept  down  along  the  coast  through 
Philistia,  but  for  some  reason  they  did  not  turn  from 
their  route  to  molest  Judah  and  Jerusalem. 

SKETCH  OF  ZEPHANIAH 

We  are  told  in  the  introduction  to  the  book  of 
Zephaniah  3  that  this  prophet  was  a  son  of  Cushi, 
and  a  descendant  of  Hezekiah.  He  was,  therefore, 
of  royal  blood,  and  a  descendant  of  one  of  Judah's 
greatest  kings.  We  learn  from  this  little  book  that 
he  was  also  a  native  of  Jerusalem.  These  facts  sup- 
port the  contention  that  he  was  one  of  the  advisers 
of  Josiah  during  his  minority,  and  doubtless  was 
largely  responsible  for  the  great  reforms  undertaken 
by  this  king.  The  prophet's  name  means  "  Jehovah 
hath  hidden,"  and  probably  suggests  that  he  was  born 
during  the  persecutions  of  Manasseh. 

i "  Herodotus,"  Vol.   1,  pp.   105,  106. 
zZeph.  1:  14.  a  Zeph.  1:  1. 


120  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

Zephaniah  has  been  designated  as  "  the  prophet  as 
disciple,"  and  "  the  prophet  of  judgment."  Jordan 
uses  the  former  expression  to  indicate  the  use  the 
prophet  makes  of  the  writings  of  Isaiah.  "  By  the 
substance  of  his  thought,  as  well  as  the  style  of  his 
teaching,  this  prophet  is  linked  to  Isaiah."  4  Duhm  5 
on  this  point  says :  "  Zephaniah  is  of  importance  to 
us  less  on  his  own  account  than  because  of  his  use  of 
Isaiah.  He  shows  what  use  a  sober  imitator  can  make 
of  the  master's  material  of  thought."  It  also  re- 
enforces  a  thought  expressed  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ter, i.e.,  that  "  the  years  of  darkness  "  that  pre- 
ceded the  age  of  Josiah  were  really  years  of  study 
and  preparation  on  the  part  of  the  prophets  for  their 
broader  and  deeper  work  in  this  age. 

Zephaniah  was  no  less  a  prophet  of  judgment.  At 
the  beginning  we  read,  "  I  will  utterly  consume  all 
things  from  off  the  land,  saith  the  Lord."6  We 
must  not  forget,  however,  that  he  knew  how  to  min- 
gle promise  and  hope  with  the  judgments  of  Jehovah. 
"  The  Lord,  thy  God,  in  the  midst  of  thee  is  mighty ; 
He  will  save,  He  will  rejoice  over  thee  with  joy;  He 
will  rest  in  His  love,  He  will  joy  over  thee  with  sing- 
ing."7 

THE  SOCIAL  MESSAGE  OF  ZEPHANIAH 

Two  themes  of  primary  importance  in  the  mes- 
sages of  the  prophets  of  the  eighth  century  receive 
scant  attention  at  the  hands  of  Zephaniah.  First, 
little  effort  is  made  to  bring  about  social  reform ;  and 
secondly,  ideals  of  personal  integrity  and  social  rela- 

< "Prophetic  Ideals  and  Ideas,"  p.  110.  6  Zeph.  1:  2. 

s  Quoted    by   Jordan,   ib.    p.    110.  7  Zeph.  3:17. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS 

tions  are  largely  ignored.  His  message  was  an  ele- 
mental one,  that  of  impending  judgment,  and  all  else 
is  made  subservient  to  this  idea.  But,  incidentally, 
we  get  some  of  the  social  ideals  of  the  prophet,  for 
after  pronouncing  judgment,  he  feels  called  upon  to 
name  some  of  the  offences  that  had  brought  on  the 
wrath  of  Jehovah. 

(1)  The  wickedness  of  princes  will  be  one  cause  of 
judgment.     "  I  will  punish   these  princes,  and  the 
king's   children,    and   all   such   as    are   clothed   with 
strange  apparel."  8     The  prophet  was  not  concerned 
with  mere  externals  as  such,  but  "  strange  apparel " 
represented  sympathy  and  esteem  for  foreign  fashion 
and  imitations  of  custom.     Zephaniah  was  doubtless 
thinking   of   the   reign   of  Manasseh,   when   strange 
apparel  led  to   the  adoption  of  all  the  heathenish 
customs  of  Assyria,  and  the  rejection  of  the  moral 
and  religious  ideals  of  Judah. 

(2)  In   the   day   of  judgment,   the   unscrupulous 
merchant  who  has  acquired  wealth  and  ease  through 
unfair  and  dishonest  dealing  shall  come  in  for  his  pun- 
ishment.    On  that  fatal  day,  terror  and  wailing  shall 
come  from  the  fish-gate,  and  from  the  height  where 
the  wealthy  live  in  their  ease.     "  Howl,  O  dwellers 
in  the  merchant  quarter,  for  when  the  foe  appears 
your   treasures   and   goods   will  be   the   first   to   be 
seized."  9      Clearly  the  prophet  is  here  assuming  that 
his  hearers  are  familiar  with  the  conditions  under 
which  these  merchants  acquired  their  wealth. 

(3)  The  civil  and  religious  rulers  are  unworthy 
of  trust.     "  Her  judges   are   evening  wolves ;   they 
gnaw  not  the  bones  till  the  morrow.     Her  prophets 

sZeph.  1:  8.  »Zeph.  1:  10,  11. 


THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

are  light  and  treacherous  persons ;  her  priests  have 
polluted  the  sanctuary,  they  have  done  violence  to 
the  law."  10  This  is  a  description  of  a  terrible  state 
of  affairs.  The  judges  are  guilty  of  appropriating 
property  that  they  are  called  upon  to  protect ;  the 
prophets  are  arrogant  boasters  and  superficial  lead- 
ers; the  priests,  instead  of  guarding,  profane  the 
sanctuary,  and  through  ignorance  misinterpret  the 
law  of  God.  What  a  contrast  is  this  with  the  just- 
ness of  God  and  the  purity  of  his  purposes !  u 

(4)  The  last  element  in  the  social  message  of  Zep- 
haniah  is  new  to  Jewish  prophecy,  and  one  of  the 
most  important  factors  in  the  socializing  process. 
He  pronounces  the  most  certain  doom  upon  the  man 
who  is  indifferent  to  public  welfare.  He  declares 
that  God  will  use  the  greatest  diligence  in  searching 
out  this  class.  "  I  will  search  Jerusalem  with  lights," 
is  the  way  God  speaks  to  the  prophet.  There  can 
be  no  escape  for  this  class.  Punishment  is  certain  to 
come  to  those  "  that  say  in  their  heart,  Jehovah  will 
not  do  good,  neither  will  He  do  evil."  12  This  is  a 
vivid  word  representation  of  the  indifferent  who  have 
no  faith,  who  develop  infidelity  out  of  listlessness. 
Peace  and  security  of  life  had  come  to  the  people 
through  the  good  administration  of  Josiah,  but  in- 
stead of  using  it  for  active,  useful  service  in  making 
the  good  times  perpetual,  many  had  fallen  away  into 
selfish  pleasure  and  idle  obscurity. 

G.  A.  Smith's  comment  on  this  passage  is  notable 
and  worthy  of  recall :  "  All  this  starts  questions  for 

lOZeph.  3:  3,  4. 

"  See  Keil  and  Delitzsch,  Vol.  II,  p.  131,  for  full  interpre- 
tation of  this  message.  The  above  interpretation  is  taken 
from  Strauss.  12  Zeph.  1:  12. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         123 

ourselves.  Here  is  evidently  the  same  public  temper 
which  at  all  periods  provokes  alike  the  despair  of  the 
reformer  and  the  indignation  of  the  prophet  —  the 
criminal  apathy  of  the  well-to-do  classes  sunk  in  ease 
and  religious  indifference.  We  have  today  the  same 
mass  of  obscure,  nameless  persons,  who  oppose  their 
almost  unconquerable  inertia  to  every  movement  of 
reform,  and  are  the  drag  upon  all  vital  and  progres- 
sive religion.  The  great  causes  of  God  and  human- 
ity are  not  defeated  by  the  hot  assaults  of  the  devil, 
but  by  the  slow,  crushing,  glacierlike  mass  of  thou- 
sands and  thousands  of  indifferent  nobodies.  God's 
causes  are  never  destroyed  by  being  blown  up,  but  by 
being  sat  upon"  l3  These  are  wise  words  and  ex- 
press a  thought  that  needs  constant  repetition.  But 
for  the  original  insight  into  this  important  element  of 
human  nature,  and  its  sinister  influence  on  the  devel- 
oping social  order,  we  must  give  credit  to  Zephaniah 
not  only  for  its  first  recognition,  but  also  for  an  ade- 
quate appreciation  of  its  detrimental  effects  on  na- 
tional life  and  character. 

TOPICS  FOR  REPORTS  AND  INVESTIGATION 

1.  Influence  of  Isaiah  on  the  Ministry  of  Zephaniah. 

2.  The  Religious  Reformation  of  Josiah. 

3.  Huldah  the  Prophetess. 

4.  A  Judgment  against  Nations  (Zeph.  2:  4—15). 

5.  Jehovah  in  the  Book  of  Zephaniah. 

FURTHER  READINGS 

Kent's  "  Kings  and  Prophets  of  Israel  and  Judah  " 
("The  Historical  Bible")  pp.  192-198;  Jordan's 
"Prophetic  Ideas  and  Ideals/'  pp.  110-118;  Sanders 

is  Twelve  Prophets,  Vol.  II,  p.  54. 


124.  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS 

and  Kent's  "  The  Messages  of  the  Earlier  Prophets," 
pp.  187-197;  G.  A.  Smith's  "  Twelve  Prophets  "  ("  Ex- 
positor's Bible"),  Vol.  II,  pp.  35-73;  Kirkpatrick's 
"The  Doctrine  of  the  Prophets,"  pp.  258-268;  articles 
on  Zephaniah  in  Bible  dictionaries  and  encyclopedias. 


CHAPTER  XII 
NAHUM  THE  ELKOSHITE 

The  Jewish  prophets  consumed  no  time  in  the 
formulation  of  a  constructive  social  program.  All 
of  them  assumed  social  responsibility  for  their  own 
people.  Nahum,  like  Amos,  took  for  granted  a  uni- 
versal, moral,  and  social  responsibility,  and  he  con- 
demned Nineveh,  the  proud  capital  of  Assyria,  for 
the  same  inhuman  practices  which  were  attributed  to 
the  neighbors  of  the  Hebrews  by  Amos,  in  the  pre- 
ceding century.  Nahum,  like  other  prophets,  di- 
rected his  message  to  the  concrete  problems  of  his 
age.  In  exile,  the  prophet  saw  in  proud  and  corrupt 
Nineveh  the  source  of  all  the  miseries  of  his  own 
people.  If  this  worldly  city  could  be  destroyed,  his 
people  would  be  freed,  and  their  former  glory  would 
be  made  possible.  The  prophet's  vision  is  that  of 
Jehovah  acting  in  his  wrath  to  destroy  a  city  whose 
prosperity  had  been  bought  by  blood  and  covetous- 
ness. 

HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND 

The  date  of  the  prophecy  is  sufficiently  determined 
to  justify  the  conclusion  that  it  came  while  Judah 
was  still  under  the  Assyrian  yoke,  and  doubtless  at 
this  time  Assyrian  oppression  and  the  demands  for 
large  tribute  to  help  carry  out  the  imperial  plans  of 

Assyria  proved  quite  distressing  to  Judah.     Assy- 

125 


126  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

rian  inscriptions  often  refer  to  the  tribute  paid  by 
Judah,  which  was  used  to  promote  friendly  foreign 
alliances  or  to  buy  off  some  dangerous  foe. 

The  most  important  historical  events  of  Nahum's 
age  have  already  been  indicated  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ter. In  order  more  fully  to  grasp  the  message  and 
motive  of  Nahum's  prophecy,  it  may  be  well  briefly  to 
recall  a  few  events  already  referred  to  and  to  supple- 
ment this  record  with  a  few  additional  facts. 

As  early  as  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century,  north- 
ern Israel  began  to  feel  the  pressure  of  Assyrian 
power.  Several  attempts  were  made  to  resist  this 
power,  with  more  or  less  success,  but  when  Jehu, 
who  overthrew  the  house  of  Ahab,  came  to  the  throne, 
he  was  forced  to  pay  a  tribute  to  this  growing  power 
on  the  north.  The  reign  of  Jeroboam  II  was  blessed 
by  Assyrian  inactivity,  and  Judah  then  experienced 
its  last  peaceful  reign  before  its  final  overthrow  by 
the  capture  of  Samaria  by  Assyria  in  722  B.  c. 
Shortly  after  the  death  of  Jereboam  II,  Ahaz,  against 
the  advice  and  counsel  of  the  great  Isaiah,  made 
Judah  tributary  to  Assyria.  Judah  continued  to 
pay  tribute  with  more  or  less  regularity  until  Josiah 
came  to  the  throne. 

In  the  meantime,  the  kings  of  Assyria  had  waged 
war  against  Egypt,  and  for  a  time  it  was  not  certain 
whether  the  seat  of  power  was  to  remain  in  the  north 
or  to  be  transferred  to  the  Egyptian  kingdom  on  the 
south.  During  the  period,  many  hostile  armies  were 
located  on  Judean  soil,  and  no  doubt  this  little  inter- 
mediate country  suffered  greatly  from  foreign  inva- 
sion. Nineveh  had  become  a  great  and  prosperous 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         127 

city  as  a  result  of  national  prosperity  and  imperial 
conquests. 

SKETCH  OF  NAHUM 

But  one  hint  is  given  concerning  the  life  of  this 
prophet,  and  that  is  of  doubtful  value.  The  open- 
ing verse  of  the  book  calls  him,  "  Nahum  the  Elkosh- 
ite,"  which  identifies  him  with  a  village  of  uncer- 
tain locality.  The  village  Elkosh  has  been  variously 
located.  Some  have  identified  it  with  Al-kush,  which 
seems  to  have  been  near  Nineveh ;  others  have  thought 
the  village  was  located  in  Galilee,  while  others  have 
thought  it  to  have  been  a  village  of  southern  Judah. 
The  question  cannot  be  determined  with  certainty. 

The  prophecy  of  Nahum  may  be  placed  between 
660  B.  c.  and  605  B.C.  This  makes  him  a  contem- 
porary of  Zephaniah.  Some  have  thought  that  Na- 
hum's  public  ministry  slightly  preceded  that  of 
Zephaniah  and  the  other  members  of  this  group.1 
Two  important  events  at  least  seem  to  fix  the  period 
of  this  prophecy.  It  must  have  been  made  after  the 
capture  of  Thebes  by  Ashurbanipal,  which  was  about 
660  B.  c.,  for  he  says :  "  Art  thou  better  than  pop- 
ulous No  [Thebes],  that  was  situated  among  the 
rivers  [Nile],  whose  rampart  was  the  sea,  and  her 
wall  was  from  the  sea  ?  "  On  the  other  hand,  the 
prophecy  seems  to  have  occurred  before  the  fall  of 
Nineveh,  which  was  not  far  from  the  close  of  the 
century  (about  607  B.  c.).  We  are  doubtless  justi- 

1  Kirkpatrick,  and  Sanders  and  Kent  place  Nahum  before 
Zephaniah,  while  G.  A.  Smith  and  Jordan  reverse  the  chrono- 
logical order.  However,  the  question  is  not  of  great  import- 
ance. 


128  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

fied  in  the  conclusion  that  the  prophecy  came  com- 
paratively early  in  the  period,  probably  between  640 
or  635  B.  c. 

SOCIAL  SINS  OF  NINEVEH 

The  third  chapter  of  Nahum  is  devoted  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  social  offences  of  this  proud  and 
worldly  city  of  Nineveh.  As  we  have  found  so  often 
repeated  in  the  history  of  city-building,  with  growth 
and  commercial  advantage  had  come  shameless  vio- 
lence, cruel  greed,  and  unrestrained  license.  The 
prophet  permits  us  to  view  with  him  the  vision  of  the 
terrible  days  of  retribution  that  came  to  this  city 
with  the  last  days  of  the  Assyrian  Empire.  The  city 
of  blood,  the  city  of  lies  and  robbery,  is  at  last  to 
reap  its  reward  of  violence.  We  can  see  the  rush  of 
chariots,  and  hear  the  crack  of  whips ;  we  watch  the 
approach  of  the  victorious  army,  and  behold  with 
horror  the  corpses  strewn  in  confused  masses  along 
the  street.  "  Nineveh  is  laid  waste ;  who  will  bemoan 
her?  Whence  shall  I  seek  comforters  for  thee?"2 
Certainly  not  in  Israel  and  Judah,  for  they  have 
suffered  too  much  from  the  arrogant  hand  of  this 
despoiler. 

Nahum  has  been  called  the  "  prophet  of  venge- 
ance." The  title  has  justification,  but  there  is  more 
to  his  message  than  mere  satisfaction  at  the  con- 
templated destruction  of  a  great  city,  even  if  that 
city  did  stand  for  the  oppression  of  this  prophet's 
people.  The  first  chapter  of  Nahum  is  written  in 
poetry.  It  teaches  that  while  Jehovah  will  not  spare 
the  guilty,  he  is  a  God  of  patience  and  goodness. 

2Nah.  3:  7. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         129 

"  Jehovah  is  long-suffering  and  great  in  might, 
Yet  He  will  not  absolve."  3 

Again : 

"  Good  is  Jehovah  to  them  that  wait  upon  Him  in  the 

day  of  trouble, 
And  He  knoweth  them  that  trust  Him."  4 

This  poetic  first  chapter  does,  however,  ascribe  to 
Jehovah  the  attributes  of  jealousy  for  righteousness 
and  the  avenging  hand: 

"A  God  jealous   and  avenging  is   Jehovah; 
Jehovah  is  avenger  and  lord  of  wrath; 
Vengeful  is   Jehovah  towards  His  enemies, 
And  implacable  He  to  His  foes."  5 

Has  Nahum  no  message  for  Judah?  All  his  great 
predecessors  naturally  spoke  and  wrote  to  their  own 
people,  but  here  we  have  a  prophet  who  seems  to  de- 
vote most  of  his  thought,  if  not  all  of  it,  to  the  pre- 
diction of  the  destruction  of  a  foreign  city.  Un- 
doubtedly the  message  was  one  of  encouragement  to 
his  own  people.  He  not  only  speaks  to  them  of  the 
goodness  of  God  and  reminds  them  that  God  knows 
those  who  trust  Him,  but  he  tells  them  emphatically 
that  the  oppressor  of  God's  people  is  to  be  destroyed, 
and  that  they  are  to  escape  from  Assyrian  bondage. 
The  people  of  God,  however,  are  not  permitted  to  see 
that  a  severer  chastisement  is  to  come  to  them  from 
the  rising  power  of  Babylonia. 

The  teaching  of  Nahum  was  not  so  comprehensive 
as  that  of  Zephaniah,  but  each  gave  prominence  to 
one  idea.  Zephaniah  sought  to  make  impressive  the 

sNah.  1:  3.  <  Nah.  1:  7.  5  Nah.  1:  2. 


130  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS 

judgment  of  Jehovah,  while  Nahum  gave  direct  em- 
phasis to  the  vengeance  of  God.  But,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  earlier  prophet  illustrated  his  doctrine  of 
judgment  with  specific  social  sins  of  his  people  for 
which  judgment  would  come.  We  cannot  say  that 
Nahum  had  any  distinct  social  message  at  all,  except 
as  such  a  message  is  implied  in  his  description  of  the 
woes  that  were  to  come  upon  Nineveh  on  account  of 
its  wickedness.  But  we  must  not  restrict  the  proph- 
ecy of  Nahum  to  one  historical  event,  for,  to  the 
prophet,  Nineveh  was  simply  a  type  of  those  powers 
that  work  at  cross  purposes  with  the  plans  of  God, 
and  the  destruction  predicted  of  Nineveh  applies  to 
all  kingdoms  and  cities  of  the  world  that  ignore  the 
will  of  God  and  that  follow  the  paths  of  injustice  and 
social  corruption. 

TOPICS   FOR   REPORTS   AND   INVESTIGATION 

1.  The  Date  of  Nahum's  Prophecy. 

2.  Closing  Days  of  Assyria  and  the  Fall  of  Nineveh. 

3.  The  Importance  of  Nahum's  Prophecy  to  Judah. 

4.  Nahum's  Conception  of  Jehovah. 

5.  Nineveh  in  Bible  History. 

FURTHER  READINGS 

Jordan's  "Prophetic  Ideas  and  Ideals/'  pp.  120-127; 
Sanders  and  Kent's  "  Messages  of  the  Earlier  Prophets," 
pp.  173-183;  G.  A.  Smith's  "Twelve  Prophets"  ("Ex- 
positor's Bible"),  Vol.  II,  pp.  77-112;  Kirkpatrick's 
"The  Doctrine  of  the  Prophets,"  pp.  239-257;  Articles 
on  Nahum  in  Bible  dictionaries  and  encyclopedias; 
Morgan  G.  Campbell's  "  Living  Messages  of  the  Books 
of  the  Bible"  (Job  to  Malachi),  pp.  257-271. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
HABAKKUK 

Habakkuk  was  another  contemporary  of  Zephaniah 
and  Nahum,  but  probably  his  public  ministry  came 
slightly  later  than  the  most  active  part  of  their  min- 
istries. He  was  doubtless  more  completely  a  con- 
temporary of  Jeremiah  (627-586  B.  c.),  and  possi- 
bly came  during  the  second  period  of  this  prophet's 
ministry.  From  Habakkuk's  own  writings  we  are 
disposed  to  place  the  date  of  his  public  ministry 
just  before  the  victory  of  Nebuchadnezzar  over 
Pharaoh-necho  at  Carchemish,  since  the  prophet  de- 
clares that  the  Egyptian  army  is  to  be  brought  up 
to  punish  Judah,  and  speaks  of  it  as  a  future  event.1 
This  event  occurred  in  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoia- 
kim's  reign.2  This  would  place  his  prophecy  very 
close  to  the  end  of  the  seventh  century,  as  Jehoia- 
kim  began  to  reign  in  609  B.  c. 

HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND 

If  the  date  of  Habakkuk  is  closely  approximated 
above,  we  can  definitely  indicate  some  of  the  historical 
events  that  occurred  during  his  life.  Josiah  began 
to  reign  in  639  B.  c.  and  ruled  Judah  for  thirty-one 
years.  His  reforms  were  outlined  in  our  study  of 
Zephaniah.  Josiah  lost  his  life  in  the  battle  of  Me- 

iHab.  1:  5-11.  2jer.  42:  2. 

131 


THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

giddo  3  when  he  attempted  to  resist  the  passage  of 
Pharaoh-necho  through  the  country  on  his  way  to 
wage  war  against  Assyria.  Possibly  Josiah  lost  his 
life  in  an  effort  to  fulfill  his  allegiance  to  Assyria,  to 
whom  Judah  had  paid  tribute  for  many  years.  Je- 
hoahaz  was  made  king  of  Judah  by  the  people  in- 
stead of  Jehoiakim,  the  eldest  son  of  Josiah.  But 
after  the  short  space  of  three  months  he  was  deposed 
by  Pharaoh-necho,  who  for  a  brief  time  exercised 
dominion  over  the  entire  territory  from  the  Euphrates 
to  the  Nile,  and  placed  on  the  throne  the  eldest  son 
of  the  king.  Jehoiakim  was  a  selfish  despot,  who 
had  no  regard  for  the  religious  traditions  of  his  peo- 
ple, and  soon  all  the  old  evils  of  Manasseh's  day 
sprang  up  on  every  side.  This  condition  must  have 
been  exceedingly  discouraging  to  the  reform  leaders 
of  Israel,  for  undoubtedly  the  moral  conditions  of 
Judah  were  worse  in  600  B.  c.  than  they  were  a  cen- 
tury earlier. 

Meanwhile,  a  storm  cloud  was  rising  in  the  north. 
The  Babylonians  had  risen  in  many  determined  re- 
volts against  Assyrian  power  in  the  five  centuries, 
that  this  great  empire  had  ruled  over  most  of  her 
neighboring  peoples,  but  not  until  Nabopolasser  be- 
came governor  of  Babylon  were  her  efforts  success- 
ful. Nineveh  was  taken  and  leveled  to  the  ground 
in  605  B.  c.  Soon  after,  Pharaoh-necho  was  over- 
whelmingly defeated  on  the  Euphrates  by  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, son  of  Nabopolasser,  and  all  of  Syria  and 
Palestine  were  left  at  the  mercy  of  the  ferocious  con- 
querors. Judah  had  paid  out  much  tribute  to  the 
Assyrians,  but  in  turn  she  had  been  permitted  to 

ail  Kings  23:  29. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         133 

enjoy  comparative  quiet  and  protection.  For  the 
few  months  that  Egypt  had  exercised  dominion  over 
this  little  nation,  she  had  been  permitted  to  remain 
unmolested,  merely  transferring  her  allegiance  from 
one  power  to  another.  But  a  new  hand  was  now 
raised  with  its  scepter  of  power,  and  Judah  had  heard 
in  advance  of  the  ferocious  character  and  insatiable 
ambition  of  this  new  conqueror. 

How  could  conditions  be  more  discouraging?  At 
home,  the  spirit  of  lawlessness  and  irreverence  toward 
God  prevailed;  beyond,  an  unreasonable  foe  that  was 
known  to  recognize  no  law  except  that  of  brute  force 
and  insatiable  greed  was  approaching. 

SKETCH  OF  HABAKKUK 

Nothing  definite  is  known  of  the  details  connected 
with  the  life  of  this  prophet.  He  is  spoken  of  as  a 
prophet  in  the  beginning  of  his  book.4  The  conclu- 
sion of  his  psalm  5  has  led  some  to  infer  that  Habak- 
kuk  was  officially  authorized  to  share  in  the  respon- 
sibility of  directing  the  liturgical  singing  of  the  tem- 
ple, which  justifies  the  further  inference  that  he  was 
connected  with  one  of  the  Levitical  families,  and, 
therefore,  a  descendant  of  the  priestly  tribe  of  Levi. 
He  has  been  called  "  the  prophet  of  scepticism,"  but 
this  seems  to  be  too  strong  a  term.  He  was  more 
nearly  the  prophet  of  perplexed  understanding.  He 
seems  to  have  been  a  man  of  deep  religious  belief,  but 
when  he  measured  his  faith  with  the  facts  of  life,  he 
was  unable  to  harmonize  them.  His  book  seems 
to  be  the  direct  product  of  this  long  mental  strug- 
gle. 

<Hab.  1:  1.  »  Hab.  3:  19. 


134  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

THE  MESSAGE  OF  THE  BOOK 

It  seems  best  to  regard  the  Book  of  Habakkuk  as 
a  single  prophecy  divided  into  two  parts.  Part  one 
consists  of  a  dialogue  between  the  prophet  and  God ; 
the  second  part  is  an  exalted  prayer  in  poetic  form 
in  which  the  prophet  seeks  the  fulfilment  of  prom- 
ised judgment.  The  majesty  of  God  is  recognized, 
and  his  faith  that  God  will  destroy  the  wicked  and 
save  his  people  is  acknowledged. 

The  nearest  approach  to  a  distinctive  social  mes- 
sage then  follows.  Attention  is  directed  to  those  so- 
cial derelictions  of  the  Chaldeans  that  ultimately  re- 
sulted in  their  destruction.  The  indictment  is  con- 
tained in  five  strophes  consisting  of  three  verses,  and 
each  is  introduced  with  a  woe  of  condemnation.  ( 1 ) 
Rapacity  and  plundering  is  the  first  to  be  named  and 
condemned:6  (£)  The  Chaldeans  had  attempted  to 
establish  a  permanent  nation  upon  violence  and  cun- 
ning:7 (3)  This  wicked  nation  had  attempted  to 
build  up  its  cities  by  murder  and  injustice:8  (4) 
Drunkenness  and  intemperance  generally  had  been 
permitted  and  encouraged  among  subjected  nations :  9 
(5)  Idolatry  and  the  worship  of  heathen  gods  was 
the  last  of  the  offences  charged  up  to  this  false  and 
wicked  nation.10  A  nation  guilty  of  such  offences 
could  not  endure,  for  "  The  Lord  is  in  his  holy  tem- 
ple ;  let  all  the  earth  keep  silence  before  him  "  is  the 
way  the  message  closes. 

These  words  form  the  transition  to  what  is  usually 
called  the  prayer  of  Habakkuk.  The  message  was 

6  Hab.  2:  6-8.  8  Hab.  2:  12-14.  10  Hab.  2:  18-20. 

7  Hab.  2:  9-11.  »  Hab.  2:  15-17. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS          135 

now  clear  to  the  prophet,  but  on  one  point  there  was 
still  anxiety  —  fulfillment  was  to  be  long  delayed,  and 
the  prophet  feared  that  this  would  weaken  the  faith 
of  the  righteous  in  Israel.  His  questioning  now 
ceased,  and  he  resorted  to  prayer  that  accomplish- 
ment of  God's  purposes  might  come  as  speedily  as 
possible. 

"  O  Jehovah,  I  have  heard  the  report  of  ihee,  and  am 

afraid; 

O  Jehovah,  revive  thy  work  in  the  midst  of  the  years; 
In  the  midst  of  the  years  make  it  known; 
In  wrath  remember  mercy."  1X 

The  answer  comes  in  a  vision  of  the  past  acts  of 
Jehovah,  and  a  larger  conception  of  God's  dealings 
with  men.  The  poetic  prayer  closes  with  due  con- 
fession that  God  has  answered  all  questioning  and 
prayer. 

"  Jehovah,  the  Lord,  is  my  strength, 

And  He  maketh  my  feet  like  hinds'  feet, 

And  will  make  me  to  walk  upon  my  high  places"*2 

Has  Habakkuk  a  message  for  our  own  times  or  is 
his  little  book  shorn  of  its  potential  value  by  age? 
The  external  elements  of  violence  and  bloodshed  are 
not  so  common  now,  but  some  of  the  other  conditions 
of  Habakkuk's  age  are  common  today.  Evil  in  a 
different  form  is  widespread,  and  there  exists  today 
the  same  impatience  at  the  slow  advance  of  the  good. 
The  extent  of  the  various  forms  of  social  injustice 
have  led  some  to  question  whether  righteousness  will 

11  Hab.  3:  2.  '  12  Habr.  3:  19. 


136  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

ever  prevail  over  the  forces  of  evil.13  To  all  of  these 
the  message  and  teaching  of  Habakkuk  comes  with 
peculiar  force. 

We  also  are  taught  the  lesson  that  comes  with  equal 
emphasis ;  in  studying  the  providences  of  God  we 
must  view  the  facts  of  life  in  all  their  relations.  In- 
tolerance is  often  the  result  of  viewing  conduct  from 
some  angular  point  of  view.  Faith  in  the  integrity 
of  the  social  order  and  patience  to  wait  for  God's  re- 
adjustments are  essential  according  to  the  message 
of  Habakkuk,  and  this  is  a  message  of  real  need  in 
the  age  in  which  we  live. 

TOPICS  FOR  REPORTS  AND  INVESTIGATION 

1.  The  Chaldeans  (Babylonians)  in  Bible  History. 

2.  The  Dramatic  Elements  of  this  Book. 

3.  Political    Conditions    of    Judah    as    Revealed    by 
Habakkuk. 

4.  Religious    Conditions    of    Judah    as    Revealed   by 
Habakkuk. 

5.  Internal  Evidence  of  the  Date  of  Authorship. 

FURTHER  READINGS 

Kirkpatrick's   "  The   Doctrine  of  the  Prophets,"  pp. 

is  See  Alfred  Russel  Wallace's  "Social  Environment  and 
Moral  Progress,"  Chap.  Ill  and  XIII.  This  author  begins 
with  the  thesis  that  character  has  remained  stationary  from 
the  earliest  periods  of  history.  After  analyzing  the  social 
phenomena  of  the  past  century,  he  reaches  the  following  re- 
markable conclusion:  "Taking  account  of  these  various 
groups  of  undoubted  facts,  many  of  which  are  so  gross,  so 
terrible,  that  they  cannot  be  overstated,  it  is  not  too  much  to 
say  that  our  whole  system  of  society  is  rotten  from  top  to 
bottom,  and  the  social  environment  as  a  whole,  in  relation  to 
our  claims,  is  the  worst  that  the  world  has  ever  seen."  (Chap. 
XIII,  p.  169.) 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         137 

269-290;  Jordan's  "  Prophetic  Ideas  and  Ideals,"  pp. 
130-137;  G.  A.  Smith's  "Twelve  Prophets"  ("Ex- 
positor's Bible"),  pp.  115-159;  Sanders  and  Kent's 
"Messages  of  the  Earlier  Prophets,"  pp.  219-226; 
Morgan  G.  Campbell's  "  Living  Messages  of  the  Books 
of  the  Bible"  (Job  to  Malachi),  pp.  273-286;  Habak- 
kuk  in  Bible  dictionaries  and  encyclopedias. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
JEREMIAH  OF  ANATHOTH 

The  book  of  Jeremiah  is  a  wonderful  combination 
of  biography,  history,  and  prophecy,  and  in  im- 
portance is  second  only  to  the  Book  of  Isaiah.  The 
book  possesses  deep  human  interest,  and  the  facts 
presented  supply  information  about  some  of  the  most 
important  events  of  biblical  history.  The  chapters 
of  the  book  are  not  arranged  in  chronological  order, 
and  no  study  of  Jeremiah's  social  message  can  be  dis- 
cussed from  the  chapter-order  of  arrangement.  This 
study  will  deal  with  the  social  ethics  of  Jeremiah,  and 
will  be  followed  in  the  next  chapter  by  a  study  of  the 
prophet's  social  message  in  relation  to  the  political 
events  of  his  time. 

HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND 

Jeremiah's  public  ministry  extended  over  a  period 
of  about  half  a  century  (627—577  B.  c.)  —  a  period 
of  mighty  changes  and  political  upheavals.  His  call 
came  in  the  thirteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  Josiah.1 
Jeremiah  was  a  contemporary  of  Nahum,  Zephaniah, 
and  Habakkuk,  and  was  the  last  of  this  great  group 
of  moral  leaders  of  Israel  and  Judah. 

The  beginning  of  Jeremiah's  ministry  was  marked 
by  a  historic  situation  that,  on  the  surface,  pointed 
toward  peace  and  moral  awakening.  In  the  first 

i  Jer.  1:  2. 

138 


THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  139 

place,  Judah  was  enjoying  practical  independence,  as 
the  power  of  Assyria  was  weakening.  Secondly,  the 
great  religious  reformation  of  the  young  king, 
Josiah,  was  just  beginning.2  Surely  in  such  a  time 
as  this  the  people  were  not  prepared  for  the  message 
of  judgment  which  the  Lord  directed  Jeremiah  to 
deliver.  The  vision  of  the  "  rod  of  an  almond 
tree  "  3  and  that  of  the  "  seething  pot  "  4  must  have 
seemed  strange  to  Jeremiah  himself,  and  to  the  masses 
of  the  people  it  could  have  had  no  meaning  in  such 
promising  times  as  these.  That  "  out  of  the  north 
an  evil  shall  break  forth  upon  all  the  inhabitants  of 
the  land  "  5  must  have  seemed  far-fetched  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Judah  just  at  this  time. 

In  fact,  for  the  first  eighteen  years  of  the  ministry 
of  Jeremiah  there  was  little  indication  that  the  vi- 
sions were  to  become  real  or  that  the  judgment  of  the 
Lord  was  to  be  fulfilled.  During  this  period  Jere- 
miah seems  to  have  had  some  hope  that  the  impend- 
ing calamity  might  be  averted.  "  Amend  your  ways 
and  your  doings,  and  I  will  cause  you  to  dwell  in  this 
place  "  6  is  the  conditional  promise  held  out  to  the 
people  at  this  period  of  his  ministry.  But  hope  was 
not  to  be  held  out  to  Judah  much  longer.  On  the 
battle  field  of  Megiddo,  Josiah  was  slain  by  Pharaoh- 

211  Chron.  34:  3. 

s  Jer.  1:  11.  " '  As  a  rod,'  says  Dahler,  'is  an  instrument  of 
punishment,  the  rod  of  the  almond  may  be  intended  here  as 
the  symbol  of  that  punishment  which  the  prophet  was  about 
to  announce.' "  —  Clark.  See  also  Ball's  "Jeremiah"  ("Ex- 
positor's Bible"),  p.  61. 

*  Jer.  1:  13.  "  The  pot  denotes  the  empire  of  the  Babylon- 
ians and  Chaldeans  lying  to  the  north  of  Judea,  and  pouring 
forth  its  multitudes  like  a  thick  vapor."  —  Clark. 

s  Jer.  1:  14.  6  Jer.  7:  3. 


140  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

necho,  and  Judah's  last  hope  was  gone.  The  tone  of 
Jeremiah's  message  now  changes.  From  this  time  on 
the  sin  of  Judah  is  written  with  a  "  pen  of  iron,  and 
with  the  point  of  a  diamond,"  7  and  the  reply  of  the 
people  to  Jehovah's  invitation  to  turn  from  evil  ways 
is :  "  It  is  in  vain,  for  we  will  walk  after  our  own 
devices,  and  we  will  do  every  one  after  the  stubborn- 
ness of  his  evil  heart."  8 

Four  weak  kings  followed  each  other  in  rapid  suc- 
cession on  the  throne  of  Judah  as  the  nation  hastened 
to  its  final  and  complete  downfall.  Jehoahaz,  the 
second  son  of  Josiah,  was  placed  on  the  throne  to 
succeed  this  great  king,  but  after  the  short  period  of 
three  months  he  was  compelled  to  abdicate  by  Pha- 
raoh-necho,  who  carried  him  into  Egypt.  The  eldest 
son  of  Joshiah,  Jehoiakim,  was  now  elevated  to  the 
throne.  It  was  during  his  reign  that  the  great  bat- 
tle of  Carchemish  (605  B.  c.)  was  fought.  The 
Babylonians  under  Nebuchadnezzar  completely  de- 
feated the  forces  of  Egypt  under  Necho,  and  gave 
over  to  this  rising  power  the  supremacy  of  Western 
Asia.9  A  second  invasion  of  the  Babylonians  shortly 
after  drove  the  Egyptians  back  into  their  own  land, 
and  appropriated  all  their  tributary  possessions.10 
This  included  Judah,  and  Jehoiakim  became  the  vas- 
sal of  the  Babylonian  king.  Three  years  later,  as  a 
result  of  his  rebellion,  he  was  probably  slain  while  re- 
sisting the  forces  of  Babylon.  His  son,  Jehoiachin, 
succeeded  him,  and  continued  the  rebellion  until  he 
was  captured  after  three  months  and  carried  away  a 
captive  to  Babylon.  He  was  succeeded  by  Zedekiah, 

7Jer.  17:  1.  »Jer.  46:  2-27. 

s  Jer.  18:  12.  10  II  Kings  24:  7. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         141 

the  youngest  son  of  Josiah,  who  was  destined  to  have 
his  name  connected  with  the  final  downfall  of  Judah. 
He  doubtless  resented  from  the  beginning  the  su- 
premacy of  Babylon,  and  when  Pharaoh-hophra  came 
to  the  throne  of  Egypt  a  secret  alliance  was  formed, 
and  Zedekiah  rebelled  against  Babylon.  Nebuchad- 
nezzar with  a  great  army  was  quick  to  act.  The 
city  of  Jerusalem  was  besieged,  and  after  eighteen 
months  of  famine  and  privation  the  city  fell.  Zede- 
kiah was  captured,  and  after  his  sight  was  destroyed 
he  was  carried  captive  into  Babylon. 

SKETCH  OF  JEREMIAH 

In  the  midst  of  these  troublous  times  Jeremiah 
lived  and  prophesied  in  Judah.  We  have  more  in- 
formation concerning  the  details  of  the  life  of  Jere- 
miah than  any  other  prophet.  He  came  from  the 
village  of  Anathoth,  which  was  located  a  short  dis- 
tance northeast  of  Jerusalem.  He  was  a  son  of  Hil- 
kiah,  and  came,  therefore,  from  a  priestly  family. 
The  call  of  Jehovah  came  to  him  in  the  thirteenth 
year  of  the  reign  of  Josiah,  which  was  about  6£7 
B.  c.,  but  he  does  not  seem  to  have  been  very  definitely 
identified  with  the  reforms  of  Josiah.  It  seems  that 
in  the  earlier  period  of  his  public  ministry  he  worked 
very  quietly  and  unobtrusively.  His  first  aggres- 
sive work  seems  to  have  come  in  the  reign  of  Jehoia- 
kim,  when  he  dared  to  assert  that  destruction  awaited 
both  the  temple  and  the  city.  This  aroused  violent 
opposition  to  the  prophet,  and  his  life  was  threatened. 
He  was  saved  only  with  difficulty,  and  on  condition 
that  he  was  not  to  proclaim  his  teachings  in  the 
temple.  Later  on  in  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim,  when 


THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

Baruch,  a  friend  and  pupil  of  the  prophet,  was  read- 
ing the  written  discourses  of  Jeremiah  in  the  temple, 
the  king  heard  of  it,  and  ordered  the  scribe  to  read 
them  in  his  presence.  Before  the  reading  was  fin- 
ished the  king  cut  the  manuscript  in  pieces  and  cast 
them  into  the  fire,  and  then  ordered  the  arrest  of 
Jeremiah  and  Baruch.  Both,  however,  were  able  to 
keep  out  of  the  way  of  the  king's  officers  and  thereby 
avoided  arrest. 

The  reign  of  Zedekiah  brought  better  days  to  Jere- 
miah. This  king  undoubtedly  held  the  prophet  in 
high  esteem,  but  public  opinion  had  to  be  considered. 
Jeremiah  was  not  in  favor  with  the  people ;  so  the  king 
could  not  follow  and  be  guided  by  the  prophet  as 
doubtless  he  would  have  liked  to  have  been.  In  the 
fourth  year  of  the  reign  of  Zedekiah,  a  significant 
event  occurred  in  which  Jeremiah  was  the  chief  char- 
acter. 

All  the  neighboring  nations  sent  ambassadors  up 
to  Jerusalem  for  the  purpose  of  planning  concerted 
opposition  and  resistance  to  Nebuchadnezzar. 
There  was  overwhelming  sentiment  in  favor  of  re- 
sistance, but  in  the  midst  of  the  proceedings  Jere- 
miah appeared  with  a  yoke  about  his  neck  and  pro- 
claimed that  it  was  best  for  all  these  nations  to  bow 
their  necks  to  the  Chaldean  yoke.  Then  a  remark- 
able thing  happened.  Hananiah,  a  popular  prophet, 
took  the  yoke  off  the  neck  of  Jeremiah,  and  broke  it 
in  the  presence  of  all  the  representatives,  and  de- 
clared that  in  like  manner  they  would  break  the  yoke 
of  the  king  of  Babylon.  Jeremiah's  words  in  re- 
sponse are  significant :  "  Thou  hast  broken  the 
yokes  of  wood;  but  in  their  stead  shall  come  yokes 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS 

of  iron."  ll  These  words  turned  the  tide  of  opposi- 
tion. Jeremiah's  position  was  vindicated,  the  deliber- 
ations came  to  naught,  and  no  formal  action  was 
taken. 

Jeremiah  was  also  consulted  when  Zedekiah  was 
considering  the  advisability  of  throwing  off  the  yoke 
of  Babylonian  bondage,  and  advised  against  the  step. 
But  his  advice  this  time  was  unheeded,  and,  with  the 
promised  help  of  Egypt,  a  revolt  followed  which  re- 
sulted in  the  overthrow  of  the  Jewish  kingdom,  and 
the  captivity  of  the  king  and  people. 

Jeremiah  survived  the  siege,  and  was  permitted  to 
remain  in  Judah.  His  prophecies  had  been  vindi- 
cated, and  it  seemed  as  if  the  time  had  come  for  the 
due  recognition  of  his  greatness.  But  this  was  not 
to  be.  He  was  taken  by  his  enemies  into  Egypt, 
where  tradition  tells  us  he  was  stoned  to  death. 

SOCIAL  ETHICS  OF  JEREMIAH 

The  largest  social  message  of  Jeremiah  deals  with 
human  rights.  In  Jeremiah  we  approach  nearest  to 
a  discussion  of  the  concrete  problem  of  human  slav- 
ery. It  is  strange  that  all  the  prophets  practically 
defend  the  needy  and  the  oppressed,  but  none  deal 
concretely  with  the  question  of  slavery.  In  fact, 
slavery  was  an  accepted  order  of  human  relations 
among  the  Hebrews,  as  it  was  among  other  primitive 
nations.  One  passage  from  the  book  of  Leviticus 
will  illustrate  this: 

"As  for  thy  bondmen  ["  ebed"]  and  thy  bond- 
maids ["  amah  "]  whom  thou  shalt  have ;  of  the  na- 
tions round  about  you,  of  them  shall  ye  buy  bond- 
11  Jer.  29:  13. 


144-  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

men  and  bondmaids.  Moreover,  of  the  children  of 
the  strangers  that  sojourn  among  you,  of  them  shall 
ye  buy,  and  of  their  families  that  are  with  you,  which 
they  have  begotten  in  your  land;  and  they  shall  be 
your  possession.  And  ye  shall  make  them  for  an  in- 
heritance for  your  children  after  you,  to  hold  for  a 
possession.  Of  them  shall  ye  take  your  bondmen 
forever."  12 

Few  have  realized  the  emphatic  recognition  given 
to  slavery  in  the  Bible,  of  which  this  passage  is  an 
illustration.  The  injunction  against  the  sin  of  covet- 
ousness,  as  stated  in  the  tenth  commandment,  accepts 
slavery  as  an  institution,  and  recognizes  slaves  as 
property,  as  does  the  passage  cited  above. 

But  in  spite  of  this  general  recognition,  slavery 
must  have  constituted  a  very  small  feature  of  the  so- 
cial life  of  the  Hebrew  people,  for  the  few  glimpses 
that  we  get  of  slavery  are  of  little  importance,  and 
the  further  fact  that  the  great  moral  leaders  did  not 
see  fit  to  denounce  it  is  sufficient  evidence  that  it  had 
not  become  a  problem  of  such  magnitude  as  to  dis- 
turb the  social  order. 

In  the  time  of  Jeremiah,  however,  the  system 
brought  to  the  surface,  as  it  always  will  in  time,  ele- 
ments of  injustice.  The  facts  are  briefly  these: 
When  Jerusalem  was  besieged  by  Nebuchadnezzar, 
the  rulers  were  compelled  to  resort  to  the  revival  of 
the  ancient  custom  of  liberating  slaves  every  six  years 
in  order  to  secure  soldiers  in  sufficient  numbers  to  re- 
sist the  siege.  To  meet  this  exigency,  the  slaves  were 
solemnly  liberated.  But  when  the  danger  was  over, 
these  liberated  slaves  were  compelled  to  return  to 

12  Lev.  25:  44-46. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         145 

servitude.  Against  this  act  of  broken  faith,  Jere- 
miah hurled  his  most  terrible  words  of  resentment.13 
He  told  his  people  that  they  had  broken  faith  and 
were  guilty  of  perjury  and  were  doomed  to  destruc- 
tion by  war,  and  that  Zedekiah  and  the  princes  were 
to  be  carried  away  captives.  These  words  aroused 
the  intense  opposition  of  the  nobles,  and  Jeremiah 
was  cast  into  prison  on  a  false  charge  of  treason. 
His  prophecy  was  soon  to  be  fulfilled,  however,  and 
through  the  mediation  of  Zedekiah  he  was  released. 
The  institution  of  the  family  was  also  threatened 
again  in  the  days  of  Jeremiah.  Adultery  was  widely 
practiced.  Jeremiah  bitterly  complains  that  "  the 
land  is  full  of  adulterers."  14  Even  some  of  the 
prophets  are  guilty  of  this  offence  for  "  they  commit 
adultery,  and  walk  in  lies,  they  strengthen  the  hands 
of  evil  doers  that  none  doth  return  from  his  wicked- 
ness." 15  At  a  later  date  Jeremiah,  in  a  letter  to  the 
exiled  Jews  in  Babylon,  charges  that  Zedekiah  and 
Ahab,  who  are  holding  out  false  hope  of  speedy 
restoration,  "  have  committed  adultery  with  their 
neighbors'  wives,  and  have  spoken  lying  words."  16 
It  is  interesting  to  observe  that  the  prophet,  almost 
in  every  case,  connects  this  sin  with  that  of  falsehood. 
This  is  a  sin  that  breaks  down  and  destroys  the  moral 
fiber  of  the  nation.  "  They  are  all  of  them,"  says  the 
prophet,  "  unto  me  as  Sodom,  and  the  inhabitants 
thereof  as  Gomorrah."  This  sin,  then,  was  a  reality ; 
it  was  no  figurative  analogy  or  literary  symbol  that 
the  prophet  had  here  under  discussion. 

However,  Jeremiah,  like  Hosea,  used  this  real  con- 
is  Jer.  34:  12-22.  .  is  Jer.  23:  14. 
i*  Jer.  23:  10.                                     is  Jer.  29:  23. 


146  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

dition  to  illustrate  the  proper  relations  that  should 
have  existed  between  God  and  Israel.  He  appeals  to 
sentiment  by  representing  Yahveh  as  saying,  "  I  re- 
member thee,  the  kindness  of  thy  youth,  the  love  of 
thine  espousals,  when  thou  wentest  after  me  in  the 
wilderness,  in  a  land  that  was  not  sown."  17  In  con- 
trast with  this  happy  relation,  the  prophet  makes 
Yahveh  say,  "  My  covenant  they  brake,  although  I 
was  a  husband  to  them."  18  The  high  ideals  of  do- 
mestic life  are  more  easily  realized  from  the  figura- 
tive use  that  is  made  of  the  marriage  relation  than 
from  the  literal  teachings  concerning  it.  The  rela- 
tion of  Israel  to  Yahveh  was  the  most  intimate, 
sympathetic  and  enduring  of  all.  The  prophets 
could  think  of  no  more  appropriate  figure  to  illus- 
trate the  relation  than  that  of  human  marriage, 
which  to  them  stood  for  all  those  attributes  that  they 
wished  to  see  realized  in  the  relations  of  the  nation 
to  Jehovah. 

Jeremiah's  interview  with  the  Rechabites  brings 
into  prominence  a  primitive  sect  that  had  consistently 
protested  against  agrarian  culture  and  supported 
their  belief  with  religious  zeal.  The  founder  of  the 
sect  was  Jehonadab,  and  he  named  it  after  his  father, 
Rechab.  The  order  seems  to  have  originated  during 
the  bloody  revolution  of  Jehu.  We  are  told  19  of  the 
meeting  of  these  two  men.  After  Jehu  had  saluted 
Jehonadab  he  took  him  into  his  chariot,  saying, 
"  Come  with  me  and  see  my  zeal  for  Yahveh."  This 
incident,  occurring  in  the  Book  of  Kings  without  es- 
sential relation  to  the  tragical  history  there  re- 
corded, has  presented  serious  difficulty  to  the  Bible 
"  Jer.  2:  8.  "Jer.  31:  32.  "II  Kings  10:  15-17. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         147 

student,  but  the  difficulty  is  largely  overcome  when 
interpreted  in  the  light  of  other  passages  in  the  Old 
Testament. 

The  sect  evidently  had  its  beginning  in  a  protest 
against  the  insecurity  of  life  and  property  that  ex- 
isted in  the  days  of  Jehu.  Conditions  under  which 
Jehonadab  was  reared  were  not  unlike  the  social  situ- 
ation in  the  days  of  Rousseau's  boyhood.  The  revo- 
lution under  Jehu  has  many  points  of  similarity  to 
that  of  the  French  revolution.  The  conditions  that 
inspired  Rousseau's  "  Discourse  on  Inequality  "  20 
were  strikingly  like  the  conditions  that  caused  the 
Rechabites  to  renounce  the  ownership  of  houses, 
vineyards,  and  fields,  and  solemnly  commit  their  lives 
to  religious  nomadism.  So  devoted  were  these  peo- 
ple to  their  faith  that  they  disavowed  the  planting  of 
seed  because  this  would  necessitate  the  possession  of 
fields,  and  they  drank  no  wine  because  the  culture  of 
grapes  would  make  the  ownership  of  vineyards  nec- 
essary. 

Rousseau's  "  State  of  Nature  "  was  not  dissimilar 
to  this  doctrine  of  the  Semitic  Rechabites.  So  con- 
sistently did  these  people  obey  the  letter  of  their  faith 
that  we  find  Jeremiah  contrasting  the  disobedience 
of  the  Jews  toward  Jehovah  with  the  fidelity  and  loy- 
alty of  the  Rechabites. 

However,  we  must  not  be  too  hasty  to  attribute 
moral  superiority  to  the  Rechabites  as  compared  with 
agrarian  Jews.  This  sect  had  renounced  the  ele- 
mentary principles  of  potential  progress,  the  only 
thing  that  could  raise  them  in  the  scale  of  civiliza- 
tion. While  the  Jews  were  meeting  with  tempta- 

20  See  Morley's  "  Rousseau,"  Chap.  II  and  V. 


148  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

tions,  they  were  also  organizing  for  social  progress. 
The  mistake  of  the  Rechabites  was  in  adopting  an 
easy  code  of  static  faith ;  the  mistake  of  the  Jews  was 
in  repudiating  ideals  that  were  wholesome  in  them- 
selves. 

Social  conditions  caused  several  of  the  preexilic 
prophets  to  sympathize  with  the  faith  of  the  Recha- 
bites. Elijah  and  Elisha  were  advocates  of  a  simpler 
Jehovism  which  they  sought  under  nomadic  condi- 
tions. "  I  will  yet  again  make  thee  to  dwell  in  tents," 
says  Hosea  21  as  a  solution  to  the  social  and  ethical 
problem.  And  Jeremiah  makes  Jehovah  say,  "  I  re- 
member for  thee  the  kindness  of  thy  youth,  the  love 
of  thine  espousals ;  how  thou  wentest  after  me  in  the 
wilderness,  in  the  land  that  was  not  sown."  22  It 
was  easy  to  see  that  agrarianism  had  produced  social 
disorders  that  were  unknown  to  nomadism.  In  an 
attempt  to  think  through  this  situation,  the  first  so- 
lution that  naturally  suggested  itself  was  a  reversion 
to  nomadic  life.  It  was  natural  that  these  prophets 
should  suggest  this,  but  it  is  also  fortunate  that  they 
later  saw  the  larger  significance  of  the  social  prob- 
lem. These  prophets  lived  before  the  days  when  men 
thought  in  terms  of  the  pathology  of  progress.23 
The  derelictions  of  the  Jews  were  largely  the  results 
of  untried  or  new  experiences.  "  The  discovery  of 
diffusion  and  the  transmission  from  age  to  age  of  the 
knowledge,  beliefs,  ideas,  and  ideals  by  which  men 
have  found  it  possible  to  conquer  nations  and  live  to- 

21  Hos.  12:  9. 

22  Jer.  2:  2. 

23  This  phrase  is  used  as  a  chapter  heading  (Chapter  IV) 
in  Professor  Farnam's  "  The  Economic  Utilization  of  History." 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         149 

gether  in  well-ordered  groups "  is  civilization.24 
There  is  always  a  sorry  by-product  to  civilization 
that  is  hard  to  reconcile  with  progress.  This  was 
the  stumbling  block  of  the  Rechabite,  the  Nazarite, 
and  the  prophet. 

Jeremiah,  like  his  predecessors  and  contempo- 
raries, directed  attention  to  some  of  these  social  by- 
products. He  repeatedly  condemns  his  people  for 
the  crime  of  murder,  and  attention  is  repeatedly 
called  to  the  indifference  to  the  sacredness  of  human 
life,25  and  the  trivial  defences  offered  for  taking  it. 
Murder  was  the  outgrowth  of  the  practices  of  op- 
pression and  minor  forms  of  violence  to  which  the 
poor  and  defenceless  were  subjected  by  the  rich  and 
powerful.  Jeremiah,  therefore,  condemned  all  these 
as  a  disregard  of  personal  rights.26 

An  indifference  to  personal  rights  always  makes 
property  rights  insecure.  We  are  not  surprised, 
therefore,  when  we  read  Jeremiah's  charge  that  steal- 
ing and  robbery  were  practiced  by  the  Jews.  In  a 
summary  of  offences,  Jeremiah  mentions  theft  first 
in  chapter  seven,  verse  nine.  He  pronounces  woe 
upon  "  him  that  buildeth  his  house  by  unrighteous- 
ness, and  his  chambers  by  injustice;  that  useth 
his  neighbor's  services  without  wages,  and  giveth  him 
not  his  hire;  that  saith,  I  will  build  me  a  wide  house 
and  spacious  chambers,  and  cutteth  him  out  windows, 
and  it  is  ceiled  with  cedar,  and  painted  with  vermil- 
ion." 27  Covetousness  is  repeatedly  condemned  28  by 
Jeremiah.  The  term  as  used  by  the  prophet  prac- 

24  Ellwood's  "  The  Social  Problem,"  p.  20. 

25  Jer.  2:  34f;  7:  10;  22:  3,  17.        27  Jer.  22:  13-14. 

28  Jer.  7:  6;  22:  3.  28  Jer.  6:  13;  8:  10;  22:  17. 


150  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

tically  means  "  plunder  "  or  goods  gotten  by  violent 
or  dishonest  means.29 

Jeremiah  emphasized  truthfulness  as  an  important 
social  virtue.  To  him  it  included  trustworthiness.30 
The  prophet  was  grieved  because  this  virtue  was  so 
sadly  lacking  in  his  day.  His  failure  to  find  it 
caused  him  to  declare  that  "  truth  is  perished." 
Falsehood  was  so  universally  practiced  as  to  give  no 
place  for  truth.  "  They  bend  their  tongue,"  he  says, 
"  as  it  were  their  bow  for  falsehood,"  31  and  again  in 
the  same  chapter  he  says,  "  They  will  deceive  every 
one  his  neighbor,  and  will  not  speak  the  truth;  they 
have  taught  their  tongues  to  speak  lies;  they  weary 
themselves  to  commit  iniquity."  32 

Idolatry  33  and  unbelief  34  had  accomplished  their 
deadly  work.  These  were  the  seed  that  were  sown  in 
the  soil  of  demoralization  and  national  dissolution. 
These  seed  brought  forth  a  tree  whose  fruits  were 
falsehood  and  broken  faith,  selfishness  and  injustice, 
murder  and  adultery.  "  Run  ye  to  and  fro  through 
the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  and  see  now,  and  know,  and 
seek  in  the  broad  places  thereof,  if  ye  can  find  a  man, 
if  there  be  any  that  doeth  justly,  that  seeketh  truth, 
and  I  will  pardon  it."  35  This  was  a  liberal  proposi- 
tion, and  the  fact  that  it  was  not  accepted  bears  mute 
testimony  to  the  extent  of  moral  degradation. 

In  the  midst  of  such  religious  corruption  and 
moral  decay  the  prophet  offers  a  prayer  to  Jehovah, 
and  then  writes  the  epitaph  for  his  nation.  In  his 
prayer  he  pleads  for  correction,  and  for  judgment  on 

2»  Mitchell's  "  Ethics  of  the  Old  Testament,"  p.  207. 
so  Ib.  p.  208.     Jer.  7:  28;  cp.  5:  1.  33  Jer.  1:  16. 

si  Jer.  9:  3.  s*  Jer.  5:  12. 

32  Jer.  9:  5.  35  Jer.  5:  1. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS          151 

the  other  nations  that  have  been  instrumental  in  Ju- 
dah's  fall ;  "  O  Jehovah,  I  know  that  the  way  of  man 
is  not  in  himself ;  it  is  not  in  man  that  walketh  to  di- 
rect his  steps.  O  Jehovah,  correct  me,  but  in  meas- 
ure ;  not  in  thine  anger,  lest  thou  bring  me  to  noth- 
ing. Pour  out  thy  wrath  upon  the  nations  that  know 
thee  not,  and  upon  the  families  that  call  not  on  thy 
name;  for  they  have  devoured  Jacob,  yea,  they  have 
devoured  him  and  consumed  him,  and  have  laid  waste 
his  habitation."  3G  But  the  people  themselves  had 
gone  too  far  in  religious  decay  and  social  immorality 
to  expect  God  to  save  the  nation  itself,  so  the  prophet 
proceeds  to  write  in  advance  the  nation's  epitaph: 
"  This  is  the  nation  that  hath  not  hearkened  to  the 
voice  of  Jehovah  their  God,  nor  received  instruc- 
tion. Truth  is  perished,  and  is  cut  off  from  their 
mouth."  37 

TOPICS  FOR  REPORTS  AND  INVESTIGATION 

1.  Bible  Teaching  Concerning  Slavery. 

2.  Jeremiah's  Call  and  his  Conception  of  it. 

3.  The  Element  of  Hope  in  the  Book  of  Jeremiah. 

4.  Baruch,  the  Scribe  of  Jeremiah,  and  his  Work. 

5.  Jeremiah's  Relations  with  the  "  Regular  "  Prophets 

FURTHER  READINGS 

Kent's  "  The  Kings  and  Prophets  of  Israel  and 
Judah  "  ("  The  Historical  Bible  "),  pp.  199-218;  Mitch- 
ell's "  Ethics  of  the  Old  Testament,"  Chap.  XV,  pp. 
194-212;  Bade's  "The  Old  Testament  in  the  Light  of 
Today,"  Chap.  IX,  pp.  258-280;  Sanders  and  Kent's 
"  The  Messages  of  the  Earlier  Prophets,"  pp.  229-295 ; 
Kirkpatrick's  "  The  Doctrine  of  the  Prophets,"  pp.  291- 

aejer.  10:  23-25.  37jer.  7:  28. 


152  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS 

325;  Cornill's  "The  Prophets  of  Israel,"  pp.  91-107; 
the  two  volumes  ("  The  Expositor's  Bible ")  by  Ball, 
Chaps.  I-XX  and  Bennett,  Chaps.  XXI-LII;  Chambers' 
"The  Hebrew  Prophets,"  pp.  132-168;  articles  on 
Jeremiah  in  Bible  dictionaries  and  encyclopedias. 


CHAPTER  XV 
POLITICAL  POLICIES  OF  JEREMIAH 

The  preceding  study  attempted  to  give  emphasis 
to  the  social  ethics  of  Jeremiah;  the  present  study 
will  attempt  to  analyze  his  political  message  as  influ- 
enced by  the  larger  social  conditions  of  the  times. 
While  this  division  is  somewhat  arbitrary,  it  is  con- 
venient in  a  treatment  of  the  prophet's  teaching  from 
this  point  of  view.  However,  there  is  a  sense  in 
which  there  is  justification  for  this  division.  Jere- 
miah's approach  to  the  purely  social  problem  was 
radically  different  from  his  mental  reaction  concern- 
ing political  questions.  His  attitude  toward  social 
questions  was  that  of  a  radical,  while  on  all  political 
questions  he  was  a  conservative.  He  manifested  his 
willingness  to  obey  the  Lord  in  "  rooting  out,  pulling 
down,  and  destroying,"  l  if  by  doing  so  he  could  sub- 
stitute social  justice  and  religious  purity  for  injus- 
tice and  moral  decay,  but  he  was  equally  willing,  in 
political  affairs,  to  advise  his  people  to  "  ask  for  the 
good  old  paths." 2  We  may  naturally  ask :  Is 
such  a  thing  possible  in  practical  life?  Can  a 
man  be  both  a  conservative  and  a  radical  at  the 
same  time?  Possibly  not  in  our  day,  when  political 
action  is  the  goal  of  social  reform,  but  in  the  days 
of  Jeremiah  no  such  relationship  existed. 

i  Jer.  1:  10.  2  Jer.  6:  16. 

153 


154  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

The  political  conservatism  of  Jeremiah  was  not 
that  of  stagnation  or  retrogression.  He  was  not  a 
man  who  revered  an  old  thing  merely  because  it  was 
old.  This  would  have  been  both  narrow  and  stupid, 
and  no  true  prophet  could  be  either.  His  statesman- 
ship was  guided  by  vision  and  principle,  and  both  of 
these  led  him  to  contend  for  established  order  and  a 
tried-out  public  policy.  The  wisdom  of  this  course 
is  easy  to  see  in  the  light  of  the  discussion  of  political 
events  of  his  time  and  of  the  consequences  brought 
upon  his  nation  by  its  failure  to  follow  his  political 
advice. 

NATIONAL  POLICIES 

The  national  policies  advocated  by  Jeremiah  were 
opposed  by  both  the  ruling  princes-  and  popular 
prophets.  It  was  inevitable  that  he  should  come  in 
conflict  with  the  state  authorities  and  popular  priests. 
Much  of  his  public  ministry  was  conducted  in  op- 
position to  one  or  the  other  of  these  two  classes,  and 
sometimes  his  national  policies  ran  counter  to  the 
wishes  of  both  of  these  classes.  This  was  true  of  the 
most  fundamental  principles  advocated  by  the 
prophet. 

In  the  eager  years  of  youth,  Jeremiah  advocated 
a  new  nationalism  that  would  reunite  Israel  and 
Judah.  He  hoped  to  see  Jerusalem  the  capital  of 
the  nation  as  of  old  3  and  then,  "  Judah  shall  walk 
with  the  house  of  Israel,  and  they  shall  come  together 
out  of  the  land  of  the  north  to  the  land  that  I  gave 
for  an  inheritance  unto  your  fathers."  4  Out  of  the 
scattered  population  of  Israel  and  the  demoralized 
3  Jer.  3:  17.  *  Jer.  3:  18. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS          155 

conditions  in  Judah,  the  prophet  hoped  to  see  welded 
together  a  nation  that  would  be  strong  enough  to 
withstand  the  invasions  of  Babylon  and  Egypt.  His 
later  foreign  policy  was  forced  upon  him  when  he 
realized  that  his  dream  of  national  reorganization  was 
impractical  and  futile. 

POLICY  TOWARD  BABYLON 

Jeremiah  reveals  a  clear  conception  of  a  state  pol- 
icy in  his  earliest  public  utterances  —  a  policy  not 
only  involving  public  welfare  but  national  existence.5 
In  chapter  twenty-seven  we  have  an  outline  of  Jere- 
miah's political  program,  and  an  account  of  his  con- 
tention with  the  princes  and  prophets  of  his  day. 
He  consistently  contended  that  allegiance  to  Babylon 
was  the  imperative  duty  of  Judah.  The  first  public 
and  outspoken  announcement  of  this  policy  came  in 
the  fourth  year  of  the  reign  of  Zedekiah.  At  this 
time  embassies  were  sent  by  the  states  of  Palestine, 
which  had  for  their  purpose  the  forming  of  a  coali- 
tion against  Nebuchadnezzar.  Jeremiah  appeared 
while  they  were  deliberating,  bearing  five  yokes,  one 
for  each  of  the  states  represented,  which  included 
Edom,  Moab,  Ammon,  Tyre,  and  Sidon  with  the  fol- 
lowing message  from  Jehovah :  "  And  it  shall  come 
to  pass,  that  the  nation  and  the  kingdom  which  wrill 
not  serve  the  same  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon, 
and  that  will  not  put  their  neck  under  the  yoke  of  the 
king  of  Babylon,  that  nation  will  I  punish  with  the 
sword,  and  with  the  famine,  and  with  the  pestilence, 
until  I  have  consumed  them  by  his  hand." 

It  seems  that  this  was  the  beginning  of  a  series  of 

«  Jer.  2 :  14-ff.     Jer.  27 :  8. 


156  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

public  debates  between  Jeremiah  on  one  side,  and  cer- 
tain popular  prophets  on  the  other.  One  such  de- 
bate is  recorded  in  chapter  twenty-eight.  In  this 
instance  Hananiah,  one  of  these  political  prophets 
who  was  contending  with  Jeremiah,  took  a  yoke 
which  the  true  prophet  was  carrying  around  as  a 
symbol,  and  broke  it,  saying,  "  Even  so  will  I  break 
the  yoke  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon,  within 
two  full  years  from  off  the  neck  of  all  the  nations."  6 
Jeremiah's  answer  was  simple  and  direct,  "  Thou  hast 
broken  the  bars  of  wood ;  but  thou  hast  made  in  their 
stead  bars  of  Iron."  7  The  verdict  of  the  nations 
seems  to  have  been  made  in  Jeremiah's  favor,  for  the 
deliberations  came  to  naught,  and  no  outbreak 
against  Babylon  followed. 

But  the  work  of  the  popular  prophets  did  not  end 
here,  for  about  this  time  the  exiles  in  Babylon  were 
stirred  up  by  this  advocacy  of  rebellion  by  the  popu- 
lar prophets.  This  condition  caused  Jeremiah  to 
write  a  letter  8  to  the  exiles  in  Babylon  in  which  he 
condemned  these  prophets  and  pleaded  with  these 
exiled  people  to  abide  in  peace  and  await  the  time  of 
the  Lord  of  restoration. 

This,  however,  was  not  the  end  of  this  political  agi- 
tation. For  the  next  five  years  we  hear  no  more 
of  this  great  political  question,  but  the  whole  mat- 
ter was  to  come  up  again  under  rather  remarkable 
conditions.  It  seems  that  Zedekiah  came  to  believe 
sincerely  in  the  political  wisdom  of  Jeremiah,  but  at 
the  same  time  the  Jews  who  remained  in  Jerusalem 
were  coming  more  and  more  to  distrust  his  state- 
craft. At  this  crisis,  Egypt  tendered  her  aid  to 

«Jer.  29:  11.  ?  Jer.  28:  13.  8  Jer.  29 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         157 

Judah,  and  Zedekiah  rebelled  against  Babylon. 
Immediately  the  Babylonian  army  invaded  Judah  and 
laid  siege  to  Jerusalem.  In  this  extremity,  Zedekiah 
sent  for  the  prophet  for  advice.  The  policy  he  had 
advocated  through  these  years  could  not  be  gainsaid 
now.  With  the  Babylonian  army  surrounding 
Jerusalem,  he  could  not  doubt  his  political  wisdom, 
and  he  so  informed  the  king.  But  the  people  would 
not  believe  him,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  invasion  the 
Egyptians  appeared  and  Nebuchadnezzar  raised  the 
siege. 

This  was  the  last  great  crisis  in  the  old  prophet's 
life.  Had  his  national  policy,  advocated  through  all 
these  years,  failed  at  the  last,  and  had  he  been  mis- 
leading his  people?  The  joy  of  the  Jewish  people 
knew  no  bounds.  But  they  paused  long  enough  to 
brand  the  old  prophet  as  a  traitor,  and  to  subject  him 
to  cruel  indignities  at  the  hands  of  the  nobles  and 
popular  prophets.  But  even  at  this  hour  he  did  not 
waver;  he  knew  that  Jehovah  had  directed  him,  and 
he  could  abide  the  time  of  vindication  with  patience. 

It  was  soon  to  come.  Rejoicing  and  confidence 
were  soon  to  give  way  to  sorrow  and  despair.  A 
year  later  (586  B.  c.)  Jerusalem  fell,  and  Nebuchad- 
nezzar determined  to  make  his  victory  complete. 
The  eyes  of  Zedekiah  were  put  out  by  order  of  the 
Babylonian  king,  and  he  was  then  carried  away  cap- 
tive to  Babylon,  but  before  his  departure  all  his  chil- 
dren were  put  to  death.  At  last,  through  all  the 
vicissitudes  of  fortune,  the  old  prophet  was  destined 
to  see  realized  the  truth  he  had  attempted  to  give  his 
people  for  guidance,  and  it  was  his  sorrow  to  see  them 
reap  the  consequences  of  failure  to  follow  it. 


158  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

THEORY  OF  NATIONAL  INDESTRUCTIBILITY 

Another  political  doctrine  held  by  Jeremiah  was 
that  Israel  was  indestructible.  The  consciousness 
of  this  fact,  however,  did  not  make  it  less  necessary 
to  advocate  policies  that  would  make  this  question  un- 
important. If  the  nation  had  followed  his  policy, 
there  could  have  been  no  question  about  national  con- 
tinuity, but  since  they  did  not  accept  his  political 
advice,  the  people  themselves  were  destined  finally  to 
doubt  that  the  nation  could  survive.  In  this  state  of 
mind  he  taught  the  Jewish  people  that  exile  and  suf- 
fering were  the  afflictions  sent  upon  them  by  Jehovah 
for  their  disobedience,  and  this  judgment  was  not  to 
result  in  permanent  dissolution.  "  For  I  will  make 
a  full  end  of  all  the  nations  whither  I  have  scattered 
thee,  but  I  will  not  make  a  fuM  end  of  thee;  but  I  will 
correct  thee  in  measure,  and  in  no  wise  leave  thee 
unpunished."  9 

The  policies  indicated  above  reveal  in  a  way  the 
principles  of  government  advocated  by  Jeremiah, 
but  we  have  his  definite  theory  expressed  in  several 
places.  (1)  His  first  great  doctrine  was  that  rulers 
must  execute  judgment  and  righteousness.10  The 
rights  of  the  poor  must  be  safeguarded,  the  foreigner 
must  be  dealt  with  justly,  and  the  basic  institutions 
must  be  secure  from  violence  and  debasement.  (2) 
The  private  relations  of  men  must  be  placed  on  a 
basis  of  social  justice  and  fair  dealing.11  Every 
man  must  recognize  the  equal  rights  of  other  men  in 
all  the  affairs  of  private  life. 

9  Jer.  30:  11.  icJer.  Q2:  1-5.          n  Jer.  34:  6-11,  17. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         159 

JEREMIAH'S  POLITICAL  POLICIES  REJECTED 

A  careful  study  of  the  Book  of  Jeremiah  will  show 
that  all  the  political  teachings  of  Jeremiah  in  the 
main  were  rejected  by  the  princes  and  popular  priests 
of  Judah.  The  combined  influence  of  these  two 
classes  was  able  to  destroy  the  confidence  of  the  peo- 
ple in  Jeremiah,  and  to  cause  them  to  persecute  him. 
The  public  ministry  of  the  prophet  was  a  life-long 
martyrdom.  The  temper  of  the  public  mind  was 
such  at  this  time  that  the  people  would  not  listen  to 
wholesome  advice,  and  in  their  desperate  heedlessness 
they  were  angered  when  counseled  to  a  wiser  policy 
and  better  conduct. 

Illustrations  of  the  opposition  of  these  classes  are 
described  here  and  there  throughout  the  Book  of 
Jeremiah.  The  feeling  of  the  princes  is  well  illus- 
trated by  the  act  of  Jehoiakim,  who  ordered  the  writ- 
ings of  the  prophet  destroyed  when  they  were  read 
to  him,  and  his  anger  was  so  great  that  he  ordered 
the  arrest  of  both  Jeremiah,  and  Baruch  the 
scribe. 

Jeremiah  was  in  almost  constant  conflict  with  the 
popular  and  temple  priests  during  his  entire  minis- 
try. The  public  utterances  in  the  temple  caused  the 
temple  priests  to  cast  him  into  stocks  12  on  the  charge 
of  profaning  the  temple  court  with  unholy  preach- 
ments. The  opposition  of  the  popular  prophets  was 
even  more  detrimental  to  social  and  political  causes 
that  he  represented.  They  attempted  to  destroy  the 
effectiveness  of  his  message  both  in  Judah  and  in 
Babylon.  Jeremiah  denounced  them  in  no  uncertain 

i2jer.  20:  1,  2. 


160  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

words  in  chapter  twenty-three,13  but  the  influence  of 
these  popular  prophets  could  not  be  overcome,  and 
they  were  successful  in  a  large  measure  in  neutraliz- 
ing the  effects  of  his  public  appeals  and  warnings. 
The  persistence  of  the  opposition  of  these  prophets 
is  illustrated  by  the  work  of  Hananiah,  who  was  a 
typical  representative  of  this  class. 

But  the  worst  was  yet  to  come.  Jeremiah's  po- 
litical wisdom  was  rewarded  with  the  charge  of  trea- 
son, which  resulted  in  his  imprisonment.  This  came 
during  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Chaldeans. 
The  prophet  was  accused  of  lending  aid  and  sym- 
pathy to  the  enemies  of  Judah,14  and  he  was  cast  into 
a  dungeon  to  starve,  while  the  military  party  clam- 
ored for  his  execution.  The  old  prophet  was  only 
saved  from  his  fate  through  the  friendly  offices  of  a 
foreigner  who  was  in  the  confidence  of  the  king.15 

The  climax  of  all  the  opposition  came,  however, 
when  his  neighbors  of  Anathoth  deserted  him,  and 
even  his  own  family  declared  he  could  not  be  trusted. 
We  are  told  that  his  neighbors  sought  to  murder  him. 
"  Let  us  destroy  the  tree  with  the  fruit  thereof,  and 
let  us  cut  him  off  from  the  land  of  the  living,  that  his 
name  may  be  no  more  remembered  "  16  is  the  way  his 
neighbors  expressed  their  attitude  toward  the 
prophet.  At  this  time,  when  his  old  friends  had  de- 
serted him,  we  would  naturally  expect  his  relatives 
to  defend  and  stand  by  him,  but  they  joined  with 
others  in  denouncing  Jeremiah :  "  But  even  thy 
brethren,  and  the  house  of  thy  father  "  17  declared 
that  he  could  not  be  trusted. 

is  Jer.  23:  9-32.          is  Jer.  38:  6-13.  i7Jer.  12:  6. 

i*  Jer.  37:  13-21.         16  Jer.  11:  19. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         161 

Distrust,  humiliation,  persecution,  and  ingrati- 
tude were  the  rewards  of  the  prophet  for  patriotic 
service,  and  it  seems  a  terrible  reward  to  be  returned 
for  unselfish  devotion  and  loving-kindness.  The  life 
of  Jeremiah  illustrates  the  difficulty  that  confronts 
the  reformer  in  his  efforts  to  quicken  the  collective 
conscience  of  a  nation.  Nevertheless,  his  self-sacri- 
fice was  productive  in  giving  to  the  world  an  example 
of  devotion  to  right  ideals  and  right  conceptions  of 
national  life  and  political  conduct.  Professor  Jor- 
dan wisely  says  of  Jeremiah,  "  He  teaches  us  the 
great  lesson  which  mere  politicians  are  prone  to  for- 
get, that  no  nation,  however  great  its  privileges,  can 
safely  outrage  the  laws  of  truth  and  honesty." 

TOPICS   FOR   REPORTS  AND  INVESTIGATION 

1.  The  Political  Teaching  of  the  Popular  Prophets  of 
Judah. 

2.  Contrast  and  Comparison  of  the  Political  Policies 
of  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah. 

3.  Relations  of  Zedekiah  and  Jeremiah. 

4.  Jeremiah's  Preparation  for  Political  Leadership. 

FURTHER  READINGS 

Kent's  "  The  Kings  and  Prophets  of  Israel  and 
Judah"  ("The  Historical  Bible"),  pp.  236-246  and 
279-292;  Fowler's  "The  Prophets  as  Statesmen  and 
Preachers/'  pp.  69—75 ;  Jordan's  "  Prophetic  Ideas  and 
Ideals,"  pp.  163—190;  Morgan's  "  Living  Messages  of  the 
Books  of  the  Bible  "  (Job  to  Malachi),  pp.  109-127;  Bat- 
ten's "  The  Hebrew  Prophet,"  Chap.  X,  pp.  239-257. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
EZEKIEL 

The  changed  conditions  resulting  from  the  Baby- 
lonian exile  gradually  developed  a  new  type  of 
prophet.  The  preexilic  prophets  were  called  to  min- 
ister to  a  nation  with  established  institutions  and 
growing  social  and  political  consciousness ;  the  exilic 
prophets  addressed  a  disorganized  remnant  who  felt 
the  oppressor's  hand,  and  who  were  fast  becoming  a 
hopeless  and  irresponsible  people.  While  the  aims  of 
the  exilic  prophets  were  not  very  different  from  those 
of  their  great  predecessors,  they  addressed  them- 
selves to  different  conditions  and  laid  emphasis  on 
different  matters.  For  instance,  with  the  passing  of 
political  life,  also  passed  the  statesmanship  of  the 
prophets.  We  are  not  to  see  again  such  political 
leaders  as  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah.  The  mission  of  the 
prophet  to  an  exiled  people  in  despair  called  for  a 
message  that  would  stimulate  to  persistent  endeavor 
and  inspire  with  hope.  The  content  of  such  a  mes- 
sage could  be  found  only  in  the  glories  of  the  Jewish 
people  of  the  past,  and  in  pointing  to  an  ideal  the- 
ocracy of  the  future. 

With  the  beginning  of  the  exile,  we  gradually  re- 
cede from  the  teaching  of  social  righteousness.  So- 
cial justice  will  no  longer  be  the  central  theme  of  the 

prophet  of  God.     Amos  and  Micah  are  to  have  no 

162 


THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  163 

successors  during  the  remainder  of  the  prophetic 
period.  The  fall  of  the  Hebrew  state  caused  the 
moral  leaders  to  direct  their  attention  to  the  personal 
responsibility  of  the  individual  rather  than  to  the 
collective  conscience  of  the  people. 

While  these  later  prophets  were  not  great  social  or 
political  leaders,  we  must  not  assume  that  they  were 
relatively  unimportant.  They  performed  tasks  that 
were  unique  and  important  to  the  world  in  which 
they  lived,  and  they  left  a  permanent  heritage  for 
future  generations.  "  If  the  later  prophets  were  not 
great  statesmen  nor  social  teachers  nor  original  the- 
ologians, they  were  true  to  the  prophetic  ideals,  and 
devoted  themselves  to  the  vital  questions  of  their  age. 
In  so  doing  they  attained  their  real  greatness,  and 
performed  for  their  race  and  mankind  an  inestimable 


SKETCH  OF  EZEKIEL 

Ezekiel  was  a  contemporary  of  Jeremiah,  but  they 
were  destined  to  prophesy  under  widely  different  con- 
ditions. Ezekiel  ministered  to  the  exiles  in  Babylon, 
while  Jeremiah  was  giving  his  final  counsel  to  his  own 
people  during  the  closing  days  at  Jerusalem.  Like 
Jeremiah,  he  seems  to  have  been  of  the  priestly  line, 
a  son  of  Busi,2  but  unlike  Jeremiah,  his  younger  con- 
temporary, he  was  a  married  man,  and  one  of  his  most 
solemn  prophecies  was  in  connection  with  his  wife's 
death.3  Ezekiel  began  to  prophesy  five  years  after 
he  was  carried  a  captive  into  Babylon  in  592  B.  c., 
and  his  public  ministry  was  destined  to  continue  for 

i  Sanders  and  Kent's  "  Messages  of  the  Later  Prophets," 
p.  4.  2Ezek.  1:  3.  3  Ezek.  24:  14-18. 


164  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

twenty-two  years.     Few  of  the  details  connected  with 
his  long  ministry  have  come  down  to  us. 

CONDITION  OF  JEWISH  EXILES 

As  a  setting  for  the  social  message  of  the  prophets 
of  this  period,  it  seems  advisable  to  say  a  word  about 
the  conditions  of  the  Jewish  people  while  in  Babylon. 
(1)  The  captives  were  not  reduced  to  slavery.  The 
intellectual  and  moral  superiority  of  the  Jewish  cap- 
tives over  the  native  population  made  it  easy  for  these 
foreigners  to  secure  positions  of  responsibility  and 
trust.  Daniel  became  prime  minister,  and  Nehemiah 
was  selected  to  be  the  cupbearer  to  the  Persian  king. 
Many  doubtless  followed  the  advice  of  Jeremiah  and 
resumed  their  former  vocations  of  agriculture  and 
gardening.4  (£)  Community  life  and  interests  were 
also  somewhat  conserved  in  Babylon,  for  lands  were 
allotted  to  the  exiles,  and  they  were  permitted  to  form 
settlements  of  their  own.  This  enabled  them  to 
adopt  some  of  the  civil  and  religious  forms  of  their 
native  country.  (&)  Communication  between  Judea 
and  the  Jewish  exiles  was  maintained  without  inter- 
ference on  the  part  of  the  native  officials.  In  the 
preceding  study,  we  found  that  Jeremiah  sent  mes- 
sages to  the  exiles,  and  in  turn  we  know  that  Ezekiel 
was  well  informed  concerning  the  affairs  at  Jerusa- 
lem, and  many  of  his  prophecies  were  directed  to 
those  still  remaining  in  the  home  land.5 

But  these  Jewish  exiles  were  far  from  being  happy 
and  contented.  The  popular  literature  of  that  pe- 
riod reflects  their  despondency. 

4jer.  29:  5,  28.  5  Ezek.  17:  11-22. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         165 

"  By  the  rivers  of  Babylon,  there  we  sat  down,  yea, 
we  wept,  when  we  remembered  Zion."  6 

We  see  in  these  words  a  people  in  utter  despair. 
Another  writer  of  this  period  voices  this  feeling  as 
follows :  "  Zion  is  become  a  wilderness,  Jerusalem 
a  desolation.  Our  holy  and  our  beautiful  house, 
where  our  fathers  praised  Thee,  is  burned  with  fire; 
and  all  our  pleasant  places  are  laid  waste."  7  Their 
utter  hopelessness  is  expressed  by  Ezekiel.  "  Our 
bones  are  dried  up,  and  our  hope  is  lost ;  we  are  clean 
cut  off.  How,  then,  can  we  live  ?  "  8 

This  briefly  represents  the  social  condition  and 
mental  attitude  of  these  Jewish  exiles,  and  to  these 
Ezekiel  was  called  upon  to  minister.  It  is  easy  to 
see  that  his  supreme  task  was  to  lighten  the  burden 
of  despair,  but  this  task  did  not  preclude  at  least  a 
brief  appeal  to  the  social  consciousness  of  the  people. 
In  fact,  such  an  appeal  was  a  necessity  in  the  restora- 
tion of  hope  and  ambition. 

THE  SOCIAL  MESSAGE  OF  EZEKIEL 

The  social  message  is  comprehended  in  his  indict- 
ment of  Jerusalem.9  The  earlier  part  of  the  book 
discusses  the  wickedness  of  the  Holy  City,  and  pro- 
nounces the  impending  doom  that  must  follow  such 
conduct.  Unjust  dealing,  oppression  of  the  stran- 
ger and  the  dependent,  lewdness,  extortion,  and  un- 
fair business  dealings  are  some  of  the  social  crimes 
charged  up  to  the  people  of  Jerusalem.  Ezekiel  fol- 
lows this  category  with  a  specific  charge  against  the 
classes  responsible  for  this  condition.  He  charges 

6  Ps.  137:  1.  sEzek.  33:  10;  37:  11. 

Msa.  64:  10-11.  »  Ezek.  22:  1-12. 


166  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

the  popular  prophets  with  a  conspiracy  to  practice 
injustice;  10  the  priests  are  guilty  of  profanation,11 
the  princes  have  shed  innocent  blood  for  dishonest 
gain,12  and  the  "  people  of  the  land  have  used  op- 
pression, and  exercised  robbery ;  yea,  they  have 
vexed  the  poor  and  needy,  and  have  oppressed  the  so- 
journer  wrongfully."  13  All  this  sounds  like  the  in- 
dictments of  Jeremiah,  and  it  may  be  that  Ezekiel 
was  giving  emphasis  to  familiar  messages  of  his  older 
and  more  experienced  contemporary. 

Cornill  thinks  that  Ezekiel  gave  greater  emphasis 
to  the  sin  of  unchastity  than  any  of  his  predecessors. 
"  If  the  sanctification  of  wedded  life  and  the  purity 
of  the  family  has  ranked  at  all  times  as  the  costliest 
ornament  and  noblest  treasure  of  the  Jewish  race,  it 
is  a  possession  in  which  we  cannot  fail  to  recognize, 
more  than  any  other,  the  seal  which  Ezekiel  lastingly 
imprinted  upon  it."  14 

Ezekiel's  most  emphatic  message  to  the  Jewish  ex- 
iles was  directed  to  their  personal  relations.  Every 
man  should  recognize  every  other  as  a  brother,  and 
all  their  relations  should  be  based  on  the  principle  of 
brotherly  love.  This  was  the  spiritual  bond  that 
was  to  hold  these  little  scattered  bands  of  exiles  to- 
gether in  this  foreign  land. 

The  preexilic  prophets  established  a  collective 
ethical  code.  The  Hebrews  had  been  taught  to  think 
of  themselves  collectively ;  the  individual  had  been  ab- 
sorbed in  the  nation,  the  tribe,  and  the  family.  But 
under  the  conditions  of  exile  responsibility  became 

10  Ezek.  22:  25.  is  Ezek.  22:  29. 

11  Ezek.  22:  26.  1*  "  The  Prophets  of  Israel,"  p.  121. 

12  Ezek.  22:  27. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS          167 

personal.     We  are  not  surprised,  then,  to  find  that 
Ezekiel  attempted  to  determine  the  personal  practices 
of  a  just  man.     These  may  be  arranged  in  a  deca- 
logue of  positive  and  negative  terms  as  follows: 
(1)   "Restoreth  to  the  debtor  his  pledge." 
(£)   "Hath  given  his  bread  to  the  hungry,  and 
hath  covered  the  naked  with  a  garment." 

(3)   "  Hath  withdrawn  his  hand  from  iniquity." 
(4*)   "  Hath   executed   true   justice   between   man 
and  man." 

(5)  "  Hath  not  eaten  upon  the  mountains,  neither 
hath  lifted  up  his  eyes  to  the  idols  of  the  house  of 
Israel." 

(6)  "  Hath  not  defiled  his  neighbor's  wife." 

(7)  "  Hath  not  come  near  to  a  woman  in  her  im- 
purity." 

(8)  "  Hath  not  oppressed  any." 

(9)  "  Hath  not  taken  ought  by  robbery." 

(10)  "Hath    not     given     forth    upon     interest, 
neither  hath  taken  any  increase."  15 

The  comment  of  the  prophet  on  the  keeper  of  this 
code  is  that  "  he  is  just,  and  he  shall  surely  live." 

A  comment  or  two  will  be  all  that  is  necessary  to 
present  this  code  in  its  true  light.  (1)  Pledge  for 
debt  was  authorized  by  early  legal  sanction  16  pro- 
vided the  garment  is  returned  to  the  owner  before 
nightfall.  The  prophet  recognizes  the  ancient  law 
on  this  subject  in  several  places,17  but  in  one  instance 
the  just  man  is  represented  as  one  who  "  hath  not 
taken  ought  to  pledge."  18  It  would  appear  that 
Ezekiel  was  endeavoring  to  abolish  the  practice  under 

is  Ezek.  18:  5-9.  IT  Ezek.  18:  7;  12;  33: 15. 

16  Exod.  22:  26  f.  is  Ezek.  18: 16. 


168  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

these  new  conditions.  (2)  Ezekiel  takes  advanced 
ground  also  in  regard  to  loans.  It  had  long  been  a 
Semitic  law  that  no  interest  was  to  be  exacted  of  a 
poor  Israelite  whose  distress  had  compelled  him  to 
borrow.  "  If  thou  lend  money  to  any  of  my  people 
with  thee  that  is  poor,  thou  shall  not  be  to  him  as  a 
creditor."  19  It  is  easy  to  see  that  under  this  law 
lending  was  a  charity,  and  not  a  means  of  promoting 
industry.  A  passage  in  Leviticus  bears  out  this  idea. 
"  If  thy  brother  be  waxed  poor  thou  shalt  uphold 
him.  Take  thou  of  him  no  interest  ["  neshet  "]  or 
increase  ["  tarbit  "],  but  fear  thy  God,  that  thy 
brother  may  live  with  thee."  20  But  this  law  did  not 
apply  to  foreigners.21  Schaeffer,22  in  justification 
of  this  law,  says :  "  Aliens  temporarily  or  even  per- 
manently located  on  Israelitish  soil  for  the  purpose  of 
gaining  a  livelihood,  who  fail  to  identify  themselves 
with  the  country  in  which  they  live,  cannot  claim  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  a  full-fledged  citizen."  Eze- 
kiel made  no  reference  to  this  distinction.  It  would 
appear  that  he  would  include  foreigners  in  the  appli- 
cation of  the  law.  The  fact  is,  the  prophet  was  at- 
tempting to  readjust  the  legal  system  of  Judah  to 
the  new  conditions  in  exile. 

The  most  important  and  characteristic  message  of 
Ezekiel  was  concerned  with  the  personal  responsibility 
of  every  man  for  his  own  acts.  It  was  a  common  con- 
viction that  the  calamities  that  had  come  upon  the 
Jewish  people  were  an  inheritance  which  they  could 
not  avert.  These  exiles  were  very  familiar  with  the 
proverb :  "  The  fathers  have  eaten  sour  grapes  and 

i»  Ex.  22:  25.  20  Ezek.  25:  33,  36.  21  Deut.  23:  20. 

22 "The  Social  Legislation  of  the  Primitive  Semites,"  p.  114. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         169 

the  children's  teeth  are  set  on  edge."  23  This  prov- 
erb was  used  to  support  the  old  Jewish  doctrine  of 
retribution  that  the  sons  were  the  victims  of  the 
fathers'  sins,  and  the  victims  were  helpless  to  remedy 
the  conditions  which  were  determined  by  their  an- 
cestors. The  eighteenth  chapter  is  a  refutation  of 
this  doctrine.  Ezekiel  here  elaborates  the  truth  that 
if  a  man  lives  an  upright  life,  observing  his  social 
and  religious  duty,  he  shall  live  regardless  of  the  life 
lived  by  his  father.  On  the  other  hand,  if  he  disre- 
gards the  moral  law,  and  disobeys  the  will  of  God,  he 
alone  must  suffer  the  consequences  of  his  misdeeds. 
This  truth  was  dimly  seen  by  Jeremiah,  but  we  are 
indebted  to  Ezekiel  for  bringing  it  into  bold  relief. 
This  timely  and  wholesome  doctrine  must  have  been 
an  important  factor  in  restoring  faith  and  hope  in 
the  lives  of  these  disconsolate  exiles.  They  were  here 
taught  in  no  uncertain  words  that  they  had  it  within 
their  power  to  determine  their  own  future. 

TOPICS  FOR  REPORTS  AND  INVESTIGATION 

1.  Symbolic  Teaching  of  Ezekiel. 

2.  Ezekiel    in    Comparison    and    Contrast    with    his 
Predecessors. 

3.  Ezekiel's  Teaching  of  Jewish  Restoration. 

4.  Religious  Importance  of  the  Jewish  Exile. 

5.  Ezekiel's  Individualism. 

FURTHER  READINGS 

Mitchell's  "Ethics  of  the  Old  Testament,"  Chap. 
XVII,  pp.  218-233;  Kent's  "Makers  and  Teachers  of 
Judaism"  ("Historical  Bible"),  pp.  12-34;  Cornill's 
"Prophets  of  Israel,"  pp.  115-124;  Kirkpatrick's  "The 

zsEzek.  18:2. 


170  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS 

Doctrine  of  the  Prophets/'  pp.  326—350;  Sanders  and 
Kent's  "  The  Messages  of  the  Later  Prophets,"  pp.  19- 
31;  Wallis'  "Sociological  Study  of  the  Bible/'  Chap. 
XX;  articles  on  Ezekiel  in  Bible  dictionaries  and  ency- 
clopedias. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
OBADIAH 

The  book  of  Obadiah  is  the  shortest  in  the  Old 
Testament.  It  consists  of  only  twenty-one  verses, 
but  the  prophet's  vision  is  clear  and  the  message  is 
presented  with  force  and  directness. 

AUTHORSHIP 

Nothing  is  known  of  the  author  of  this  book. 
There  are  twelve  Obadiahs  mentioned  in  the  Bible, 
but  it  has  been  impossible  to  identify  any  of  them 
with  this  prophecy.  We  are  justified  by  the  con- 
tents in  assuming  that  the  author  was  a  native  of 
Judah.  The  period  in  which  he  lived  and  the  date 
of  this  message  are  matters  of  serious  doubt.  G.  A. 
Smith  says,  "  The  little  book  has  been  tossed  out  of 
one  century  into  another  by  successive  critics,  till 
there  exists  in  their  estimates  of  its  date  a  difference 
of  nearly  six  hundred  years."  From  the  references 
in  verses  eleven  to  fourteen,  it  seems  probable  that 
the  author  of  the  book  wrote  soon  after  Jerusalem 
was  destroyed  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  which  would  be 
not  far  from  586  B.  c.  This  would  make  this  prophet 
a  contemporary  of  Jeremiah.1  To  the  casual  reader, 
the  book  is  little  more  than  an  expression  of  protest 
against  Edom  for  rejoicing  over  the  humiliation  of 
Judah  because  of  her  fall  at  the  hands  of  the  Chal- 

i  See  Keil  and  Delitzsch,  Vol.  I,  pp.  337-345,  on  the  question 
of  the  date  of  authorship. 

171 


THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

deans,  but  the  serious  Bible  student  will  find  a  deeper 
meaning  in  this  prophecy  if  he  will  seek  the  permanent 
values  in  the  book. 

EDOM'S  CONFLICT  WITH  JUDAH 

Edom  was  located  south  of  the  Dead  Sea,  and  in 
the  main  it  may  be  characterized  as  a  mountainous 
country,  although  the  borders  of  the  country  both 
east  and  west  were  less  rugged,  and  bore  luxuriant 
growths  of  plant  and  vegetable  life. 

The  conflict  of  the  Edomites  and  Israelites  was  of 
long  standing.  Edom  traced  its  origin  back  to  Esau, 
and  Israel  to  Jacob.  The  first  reference  to  the  an- 
tagonism between  them  occurs  in  Genesis  in  the  strik- 
ing passage :  "  The  children  struggled  together 
within  her."  The  larger  significance  of  this  passage 
was  revealed  by  Jehovah  to  Rebekah  in  the  following 
words :  "  Two  nations  are  in  the  womb,  and  two 
manner  of  people  shall  be  separated  from  thy  bowels ; 
and  the  one  people  shall  be  stronger  than  the  other 
people ;  and  the  older  shall  serve  the  younger."  2 
The  history  of  Edom  and  Israel  is  the  unfolding 
of  the  "  two  manner  of  people  "  that  issued  from 
Rebekah.  History  reveals  several  incidents  that 
illustrate  the  antipathy  between  the  offspring  of  Esau 
and  Jacob.  The  Israelites  were  refused  permission 
to  go  through  Edom  on  their  way  to  the  promised 
land,3  which  compelled  them  to  go  around  this  coun- 
try.4 This  insult  was  not  forgotten  by  the  Israel- 
ites, and  when  Saul  was  made  king  he  declared  war 
upon  the  Edomites.5  During  the  reign  of  David 

2  Gen.  25:  22,  23.  *  Num.  20: 21. 

s  Num.  20: 14-17.  e  Sam.  14: 47. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         173 

they  were  brought  into  complete  subjection  to 
Judah.6  They  remained  subject  to  Jewish  power 
until  the  reign  of  Jehoram,  when  they  revolted  and 
set  up  a  kingdom  of  their  own.7  The  relations  of 
the  two  countries  were  destined  to  remain  hostile  for 
all  future  time.  Fifty  years  after  the  Edomite  revo- 
lution we  find  Amaziah  making  a  determined  at- 
tempt to  reconquer  the  country,8  but  he  was  only  par- 
tially successful.  The  conflict  of  Judah  with  the 
northern  powers,  a  little  later  on,  made  it  impossible 
for  her  to  direct  attention  to  Edom,  and  this  country 
remained  independent  and  undisturbed.9  It  was  but 
natural  for  Edom  to  join  in  the  siege  and  conquest  of 
Jerusalem  when  the  final  struggle  of  Judah  against 
Nebuchadnezzar  came.  This  was  the  culmination  of 
the  antagonism  between  the  two  countries,  and  the 
prophecy  of  Obadiah  10  doubtless  voices  the  general 
feeling  of  his  countrymen  toward  their  ancient 
enemy. 

THE  MESSAGE  OF  OBADIAH 

Obadiah  combines  the  spirit  of  the  messages  of  both 
Nahum  and  Zephaniah.  He,  like  Nahum,  indicts  a 
sinful  and  erring  foe;  and,  like  Zephaniah,  pro- 
nounces judgment  upon  them  for  their  misdeeds. 

The  sin  of  this  nation  is  that  of  wicked  satisfac- 
tion in  the  disaster  that  befell  Judah;  the  willingness 
of  the  nation  to  share  in  the  plunder  of  the  city  of 
Jerusalem;  and  in  helping  to  prevent  the  escape  of 
the  Jewish  fugitives.11 

e  I  Kings  11 :15  ff.  7  I  Kings  8:  20-22.  &  I  Kings  14:  7. 

9  The  historical  relations  of  Edom  and  Judah  are  well  sum- 
marized in  the  Schaff-Herzog  "  Encyclopedia  of  Religious 
Knowledge "  in  the  article  on  Edom. 

1:10-16.  u  Obad.  1:10-14. 


174  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

Obadiah  declared  that  judgment  will  surely  come 
upon  all  heathen  nations,  and  Edom  shall  not  escape. 
"  As  thou  hast  done,  it  shall  be  done  unto  thee ;  thy 
dealing  shall  return  upon  thine  own  head."  12  The 
remnant  of  Jehovah's  people  will  remain,  and  finally 
the  combined  forces  of  Judah  and  Israel  will  repos- 
sess their  own  land,  and  Edom,  as  well  as  other  lands, 
will  be  again  after  all  these  years  brought  into  sub- 
jection to  Judah,  and  her  kingdom  will  be  securely 
established.13 

The  source  of  the  sin  of  Edom  is  traced  to  boast- 
ful pride.  "  The  pride  of  thy  heart  has  deceived 
thee,  O  thou  that  dwelleth  in  the  clefts  of  the  rock, 
whose  habitation  is  high,  that  saith  in  thy  heart, 
Who  shall  bring  me  down  to  the  ground !  "  The 
rocky  fastnesses  and  declivitous  heights  gave  seclu- 
sion and  security  to  these  people.  In  such  a  geo- 
graphical position  they  could  look  upon  defenseless 
Judah  with  scorn  and  indifference.  They  had  even 
looked  upon  the  suffering  of  the  Jewish  people  with 
satisfaction,  and  finally  had  contributed  to  it. 

But  the  prophet  tells  us,  "  The  pride  of  thy  heart 
has  deceived  thee."  The  nation  had  lost  its  per- 
spective. This  is  always  the  effect  of  false  pride. 
National  security  appeared  more  substantial  than 
physical  conditions  justified.  Pride  of  heart  makes 
deception  easy.  "  The  men  that  were  at  peace  with 
thee  have  deceived  thee  and  prevailed  against  thee."  14 
The  wise  man  is  made  ineffective  by  false  pride,  and 
his  understanding  is  blurred.  "  Shall  I  not  in  that 
day,"  says  Jehovah,  "  destroy  the  wise  men  out  of 
Edom  and  understanding  out  of  the  mount  of  Esau? 

12  Obad.  1:15.  is  Obad.  1 : 15-21.  1*  Obad.    1 :7. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         175 

And  thy  mighty  men,  O  Teman,  shall  be  dismayed, 
to  the  end  that  every  one  may  be  cut  off  from  the 
mount  of  Esau  by  slaughter."  15 

Edom  epitomizes  all  past  nations  of  history  in  the 
steps  downward  toward  destruction.  Deceptive 
pride  obscures  national  and  personal  immorality. 
Statesmen  are  deceived  into  believing  in  false  econo- 
mies and  international  policies.  National  dangers 
are  unseen  until  too  near  to  forestall.  The  admoni- 
tion of  Obadiah  is  as  applicable  to  the  nation  whose 
pride  is  in  vast  domains  and  limitless  resources,  or 
great  fleets  and  insular  possessions,  or  national  ef- 
ficiency and  "  kidtur  "  as  in  the  apparent  security  of 
impregnable  clefts  of  the  mountains.  The  inevitable 
consequence  of  such  false  pride  is  always  some  form 
of  injustice.  Retribution  comes  sooner  or  later  to 
ihe  nation  that  falls  a  victim  to  it. 

With  this  brief  summary  we  might  ask:  Did 
Obadiah  have  a  social  message?  The  answer  is 
simple  in  so  far  as  any  conscious  social  aim  is  con- 
cerned. The  prophet  had  no  social  program.  His 
social  message  is  in  his  assumption  of  a  normal  so- 
cial order,  and  his  terrific  attack  on  a  nation  that 
failed  to  maintain  it.  The  prophet's  protest  and 
prediction  of  judgment  reflect  a  statesman's  dis- 
cernment, and  the  fact  that  the  prophecy  of  judgment 
was  later  to  be  fulfilled  reveals  a  mind  capable  of  fore- 
casting the  consequences  of  a  national  policy.  But 
aside  from  this  we  do  no  violence  to  the  implication 
of  the  prophecy  in  recalling  that  the  amalgamation 
of  ethnic  groups  depends  on  the  establishment  of  com- 
mon sympathies  and  beliefs,  as  well  as  the  character 
IB  Obad.  1:8,  9. 


176  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS 

and  resources  of  their  environment.  Toleration 
must  always  precede  cooperation.  Mutual  aid 
against  a  common  foe  is  often  the  first  step  in  the 
cooperative  process,  and  this  always  accelerates  the 
process  of  toleration.  The  progress  in  the  con- 
sciousness of  freedom  and  unity  must  come  up 
through  these  steps  —  mutual  aid,  toleration,  and 
cooperation.16  This  process  could  not  be  established 
between  Judah  and  Edom,  or  between  Judah  and  the 
other  neighboring  nations.  Therefore,  eternal  con- 
flict and  destruction,  as  well  as  rapidly  shifting  su- 
premacy, marked  the  progress  of  western  oriental 
history.  This  is  the  social  but  unconscious  message 
that  is  reflected  from  the  brief  vision  of  Obadiah. 

TOPICS  FOR  REPORTS  AND   INVESTIGATION 

1.  A    Study    of    Jewish    Prophecy    against    Foreign 
Nations. 

2.  Sources  of  Obadiah's  Prophecy  against  Edom. 

3.  A  Study  of  the  Various  Dates  of  Authorship  as- 
signed to  the  Book  of  Obadiah. 

4.  Significance     of    the     Meaning    and    Contrast    of 
"  Mount  of  Esau  "  and  "  Mount  Zion." 

5.  Comparison  of  the  Book  of  Obadiah  with  the  One 
Hundred  and  Thirty-seventh  Psalm. 

FURTHER   READINGS 

G.  C.  Morgan's  "  Living  Messages  of  the  Books  of  the 
Bible"  (Job  to  Malachi),  pp.  213-225;  Kirkpatrick's 
"  The  Doctrine  of  the  Prophets,"  pp.  33-45 ;  G.  A. 
Smith's  "  Twelve  Prophets  "  ("  Expositor's  Bible  "), 
Vol.  II,  pp.  163-184;  Sanders  and  Kent's  "The  Mes- 
sages of  the  Later  Prophets/'  pp.  63-69;  articles  on 
Obadiah  in  Bible  dictionaries  and  encyclopedias. 

16  See  Giddings'  "  The  Principles  of  Sociology,"  pp.  299-360. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
"  SECOND  ISAIAH  " 

In  the  two  earlier  studies  on  the  book  of  Isaiah  the 
last  twenty-seven  chapters  were  left  for  later  con- 
sideration, because  it  is  now  the  prevailing  opinion 
among  biblical  scholars  that  these  chapters  were 
not  composed  by  Isaiah  the  son  of  Amoz,  but  by  a 
writer  who  lived  at  least  a  century  and  a  half  later, 
and  whose  name  we  do  not  know.  Because  these 
prophecies  were  attached  as  a  kind  of  appendix  to  the 
Book  of  Isaiah,  this  unknown  author  has  been  vari- 
ously designated  as  "  The  Second  Isaiah"  "  Deutero- 
Isaiah"  or  merely  "  The  Unknown  Prophet  of  the 
Exile."  This  theory  is  maintained  on  the  ground  of 
contrast  in  style,  vocabulary,  and  thought,  and  in 
the  complete  change  of  viewpoint  of  the  author. 
The  earlier  prophecies  were  addressed  to  a  people 
with  a  national  consciousness.  The  appeal  is  made 
to  a  people  on  their  own  soil,  and  the  message  is  di- 
rected to  the  social  conscience  of  the  nation,  to  meet 
the  responsibility  of  social  justice  and  patriotic  con- 
duct. But  the  point  of  view  of  the  prophecies  now 
under  consideration  is  far  different.  They  are 
directed  to  a  people  wholly  in  exile,  with  limited  so- 
cial responsibility,  and  little  or  no  civic  conscious- 
ness. The  former  prophecies  were  directed  to  a  na- 
tion proud  of  their  king,  their  courts  of  justice,  and 

177 


178  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

their  temple,  while  the  latter  prophecies  were  directed 
to  a  people  with  broken  pride,  vanquished  hopes,  and 
modified  ideals.  The  two  messages  are  regarded  as 
too  well  adapted  to  the  purposes  and  the  needs  of 
these  respective  conditions  to  have  been  written  by 
the  same  author  or  to  the  same  people  in  the  same  age. 
Cornill 1  says,  "  It  is  now  generally  admitted,  and 
may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  established  results 
of  Old  Testament  research,  that  the  portion  of  our 
present  Book  of  Isaiah  which  embraces  chapters  forty 
to  sixty-six,  did  not  emanate  from  the  prophet  Isaiah 
known  to  us,  but  is  the  work  of  an  unknown  prophet 
of  the  period  towards  the  end  of  the  Babylonian  cap- 
tivity." 

HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND 

The  seventy  years  of  exile  were  drawing  to  a  close 
when  these  prophecies  were  spoken,  and  many  changes 
had  been  experienced  by  the  Jewish  captives  during 
this  period.  Nebuchadnezzar  had  died  in  B.  c.  561, 
and  the  twenty  years  that  followed  were  years  of  re- 
volt and  anarchy  throughout  the  Babylonian  Em- 
pire. Finally,  in  553  B.  c,  Nabonidos,  a  general  in 
the  army,  usurped  the  throne,  and  immediately  took 
steps  to  stamp  out  the  popular  religions  which  had 
been  planted  on  Babylonian  soil  through  the  con- 
quests and  captivities  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  The  re- 
ligion of  the  Jews  was  one  of  the  most  persistent 
and  popular  religions  of  the  empire,  and  their  perse- 
cution was  among  the  first  to  begin.  Previously  to 
this  time  their  religion  and  their  customs  had  been 
officially  tolerated,  although  held  in  contempt  by  the 

i"The  Prophets  of  Israel,"  p.  131. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS          179 

populace.  Many  Jews  had  acquired  the  spirit  of 
commerce,  and  some  had  amassed  large  fortunes. 
Others  had  offices  of  trust  and  responsibility  com- 
mitted to  them.  Now,  however,  in  common  with 
other  alien  people,  their  religious  practices  were  for- 
bidden, and  restrictions  were  placed  on  their  com- 
mercial enterprises. 

Nabonidos  had  not  advanced  far  in  his  reign  when 
he  came  in  contact  with  a  military  leader  who  was 
destined  after  a  few  years,  to  overthrow  his  empire 
and  restore  the  Jewish  exiles  to  their  former  land. 
This  was  Cyrus,  king  of  Elam,  a  mighty  prince 
and  warrior.  His  first  aggressive  plans  were  re- 
vealed when  Astyages,  king  of  the  Medes,  revolted 
and  planned  to  make  an  attack  on  Babylonia,  to 
whom  they  were  subject.  Their  purpose  was  unex- 
pectedly frustrated  by  the  young  king,  Cyrus,  who 
marched  against  the  Median  army,  defeated  them  in 
a  sharp  and  decisive  battle,  and  made  their  king  his 
captive.  Nabonidos  was  pleased  with  this  turn  of 
affairs  at  first,  but  when,  two  years  later,  Cyrus  con- 
quered Persia  and  added  her  territory  to  his  domin- 
ions, he  was  alarmed.  He  had  reason  to  be  alarmed, 
for  his  persecution  of  the  alien  races  in  his  kingdom 
had  made  them  restless  and  disloyal.  Many  of  them 
were,  like  the  Jews,  captives  who  had  been  forcibly 
taken  from  their  native  lands,  and  they  welcomed  any 
political  change  that  might  offer  an  opportunity  for 
them  to  return.  All  of  these  people  were  interested 
in  the  career  of  this  young  king  of  Elam,  but  none 
more  than  the  Jews,  for  this  great  unknown  prophet 
of  the  exile  had  spoken  of  Cyrus  as  "  God's  shep- 
herd," who  should  free  these  exiles  and  permit  them 


180  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

to  return  to  Jerusalem  and  rebuild  the  temple.2  It 
was  at  this  time,  when  Babylonia  was  on  the  eve  of 
falling  a  victim  to  the  ambitious  conquests  of  Cyrus, 
that  the  prophecies  here  under  consideration  were 
spoken. 

THE  SOCIAL  SITUATION 

During  the  historical  and  political  changes  that 
took  place  during  the  latter  part  of  the  exile  there 
were  also  important  social  changes  taking  place 
among  these  Jewish  exiles.  It  is  important  and  nec- 
essary to  know  as  much  as  possible  of  these  condi- 
tions in  order  to  understand  the  prophecy  of  "  Sec- 
ond Isaiah." 

The  number  of  Jews  had  greatly  multiplied  by  the 
close  of  the  exilic  period.  Not  more  than  forty  thou- 
sand went  into  exile,  but  forty-two  thousand  re- 
turned, and  a  large  number  still  remained  in  their 
new  homes.  The  old  social  organization  of  the 
family  and  the  clan  survived,  and  social  distinctions 
were  still  respected.  Many  families  had  acquired 
riches.  These  contributed  largely  to  the  pilgrim- 
ages, and  to  the  restoration  of  the  temple.  The 
rich  still  held  slaves. 

Perhaps  the  wealthy  classes  were  numbered  among 
the  exiles  of  598  B.  c.  rather  than  among  those  of 
589  B.  c.  The  captives  of  the  first  exile  were  com- 
posed of  the  better  class  of  the  nation,  and,  as  we 
have  seen,  enjoyed  liberal  privileges  and  opportuni- 
ties. They  remained  in  community  groups  with 
their  own  political  and  religious  organizations.  But 
the  conditions  of  the  captives  of  the  second  exile  were 

2lsa.  44:28. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS          181 

different.  The  destruction  of  their  personal  effects 
in  the  flames  that  destroyed  their  city,  their  famished 
condition  during  the  siege,  and  the  days  of  pro- 
longed marching,  left  these  exiles  impoverished  and 
incapacitated  for  vigorous  labor  on  their  arrival  in 
Babylonia.  Of  these  exiles  the  prophet  says: 
"  But  this  is  a  people  robbed  and  plundered ;  they 
are  all  of  them  snared  in  holes,  and  they  are  hid  in 
prison  houses ;  they  are  for  a  prey,  and  none  deliv- 
ereth ;  for  a  spoil,  and  none  saith,  Restore."  3  Some 
of  these  were  reduced  to  slavery,  and  others  were 
used  by  Nebuchadnezzar  in  the  construction  of  pub- 
lic buildings. 

What  influence  the  Jews  of  the  first  exile  had  in 
alleviating  the  suffering  of  their  less  fortunate  breth- 
ren is  not  revealed  in  the  historical  records.  The 
threatened  persecutions  resulting  from  changing  ad- 
ministrations perhaps  intimidated  them  into  helpless 
inaction.  There  were  periods  when  the  older  and 
well-established  families  may  have  been  able  to  render 
assistance  to  those  of  their  number  who  were  experi- 
encing undue  hardships,  but  the  large  place  given  by 
the  prophet  of  this  period  to  the  hope  of  deliverance 
leads  to  the  conclusion  that  little  relief  had  come  to 
lighten  their  burdens. 

THE  MESSAGE  OF  DELIVERANCE 

In  the  midst  of  these  political  turmoils  and  social 
degradations,  the  voice  of  this  unknown  prophet  of 
deliverance  was  raised  to  encourage  his  people,  and 
to  assure  them  that  freedom  and  larger  service  were 
to  come  to  them.  The  chapters  into  which  the 

»Isa.  42:  22,  cf.  47:6. 


182  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

prophecy  is  divided,  with  few  exceptions,  are  in 
chronological  order,  and  the  unity  of  content  enables 
us  to  assume  that  the  production  is  probably  the  de- 
liverance of  a  single  prophet. 

Some  have  declared  that  "  Second  "  or  "  Deutero- 
Isaiah  "  must  be  accounted  the  most  brilliant  jewel 
of  prophetic  literature.  "  In  him,"  says  Cornill, 
"  are  gathered  together,  as  in  a  focus,  all  the  great 
and  noble  meditations  of  the  prophecy  which  pre- 
ceded him,  and  he  reflects  them  with  the  most  gor- 
geous refraction  and  with  the  most  bounteous  play  of 
light  and  color."  4  The  fundamental  theme  and  the 
keynote  of  his  message  is  found  in  the  very  first  words 
that  he  utters.  They  are  very  familiar  to  every 
lover  of  music,  for  they  also  form  the  first  words  of 
Handel's  "  Messiah,"  whose  solemn  strains  give  us  a 
deeper  realization  of  the  truth  of  Cornill's  estimate 
of  this  prophetic  utterance. 

"  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people,  saith  your 
God.  Speak  ye  comfortably  to  Jerusalem  and  cry 
unto  her  that  her  day  of  trial  is  accomplished  and 
that  her  iniquity  is  pardoned;  for  she  hath  received 
of  the  Lord's  hand  double  for  all  her  sins."  5 

The  political  deliverance  of  Israel  is  repeatedly 
proclaimed,  and  Cyrus  is  declared  to  be  the  instru- 
ment in  God's  hand  to  accomplish  this  end.  The 
prophet  stimulates  the  aspirations  of  the  people  and 
arouses  their  hopes  of  immediate  deliverance  by  re- 
minding these  exiles  of  the  wonderful  victories  of  this 
new  military  leader  who  has  appeared  out  of  the  east. 
"  Who  has  raised  up  one  from  the  east,  whom  He 
calleth  in  righteousness  to  His  foot?  He  giveth  na- 

*Ib.  p.  132.  sisa.  40:1,  2. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS          183 

tions  before  him,  and  maketh  him  rule  over  kings ; 
He  giveth  them  as  dust  to  his  sword,  as  the  driven 
stubble  to  his  bow." 6  The  prophet  even  more 
plainly  tells  his  people  that  Cyrus  will  release  them 
from  their  captivity,  and  will  aid  them  in  the 
rebuilding  of  the  holy  city.  "  I  have  raised  him 
[Cyrus]  up  in  righteousness,  and  I  will  make  straight 
all  his  ways ;  he  shall  build  my  city,  and  he  shall  let 
my  exiles  go  free." 

Never  had  a  prophecy  been  more  definite  than 
this  of  the  great  prophet  of  the  exile,  and  never  was 
fulfillment  more  direct  and  complete.  With  the  quick 
precision  peculiar  to  Cyrus,  he  overthrew  the  king- 
dom of  Babylon,  and  on  the  third  of  November,  B.  c. 
538,  he  made  his  triumphal  entry  into  the  capital 
city.  Thus  the  great  empire  built  up  by  the  genius 
of  Nebuchadnezzar  came  to  an  end,  and  world  af- 
fairs in  the  east  took  a  new  direction. 

THE  MESSAGE  OF  SOCIAL  RIGHTEOUSNESS 

The  possibilities  of  early  deliverance  directed  at- 
tention again  to  the  social  conditions  that  resulted 
in  national  disorganization  and  political  exile.  The 
near  approach  of  restoration  demanded  the  awaken- 
ing of  the  civic  conscience.  These  exiles  could  not 
assume  political  responsibility  without  a  clear  realiza- 
tion that  their  exile  was  the  direct  consequence  of 
their  practices  of  social  injustice  and  political  cor- 
ruption. So  the  prophet  assures  them,  "  Jehovah's 
hand  is  not  shortened,  that  it  cannot  save ;  neither 
His  ear  heavy,  that  it  cannot  hear." 7  Social 
crimes  are,  however,  responsible  for  their  separation 

elsa.  41:2.  7  Isa.  59:1. 


184  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

from  God.  "  But  your  iniquities  have  separated  be- 
tween you  and  your  God,  and  your  sins  have  hid  His 
face  from  you,  so  He  will  not  hear."  8 

Then  follows  the  summary  of  social  wrongs  that 
had  separated  the  people  from  God,  and  that  had 
supplied  the  cause  for  the  delay  of  deliverance.  The 
list  of  offenses  implies  the  existence  of  a  social  order 
and  the  presence  at  least  of  some  of  the  institutions 
of  civil  society.  Courts  existed,  but  the  prophet 
tells  us,  "  None  sueth  in  righteousness  and  none 
pleadeth  in  truth.  They  trust  in  vanity,  and  speak 
lies."  9  The  civic  conscience  of  the  people  needed  to 
be  aroused  to  a  sense  of  justice  and  human  sympathy. 
They  needed  "  to  loose  the  bonds  of  wickedness  —  to 
let  the  oppressed  go  free."  What  is  the  real  spirit 
of  philanthropy  ?  "  Is  it  not  to  deal  thy  bread  to 
the  hungry,"  says  the  prophet,  "  and  that  thou  bring 
the  poor  that  are  cast  out  to  thy  house?  When  thou 
seest  the  naked,  that  thou  cover  him,  and  that  thou 
hide  not  thyself  from  thine  own  flesh?  "  This 
represents  the  real  spirit  of  service.  Until  this  at- 
titude of  mind  is  attained,  progress  toward  restora- 
tion must  be  slow.  On  the  other  hand,  large  promise 
is  held  out  to  this  exiled  people  if  they  respond  to 
this  ideal. 

"  If  thou  take  away  from  the  midst  of  thee  the 
yoke,  the  putting  forth  of  the  finger,  and  speaking 
wickedly,  and  if  thou  draw  out  thy  soul  to  the  hun- 
gry, and  satisfy  the  afflicted  soul,  then  shall  thy  light 
rise  in  darkness,  and  thine  obscurity  be  as  the  noon- 
day; and  Jehovah  will  guide  thee  continually,  and 
satisfy  thy  soul  in  dry  places,  and  make  strong  thy 

« Isa.  59 : 2.  •  Isa.  59 : 4.  10  Isa.  58 : 7,  8. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         185 

bones,  and  thou  shall  be  like  a  watered  garden,  and 
like  a  spring  of  water,  whose  waters  fail  not.  And 
they  that  shall  be  of  thee  shall  build  the  old  waste 
places ;  thou  shalt  raise  up  the  foundations  of  many 
generations,  and  thou  shalt  be  called  the  repairer  of 
the  breach,  the  restorer  of  paths  to  dwell  in."  ll 

No  prophet  of  Judah  has  held  out  the  promise  of 
such  large  reward  for  social  service  as  does  this  un- 
known prophet  of  the  exile.  Perhaps  the  reason  is 
to  be  found  in  the  larger  social  need  that  circum- 
stances had  thrust  upon  this  people.  More  de- 
pended upon  cooperative  effort  than  in  any  previous 
epoch.  When  institutional  restraints  are  weakest, 
moral  and  social  control  needs  to  be  the  strongest. 
Unhappily  this  is  not  usually  the  case,  and  the 
prophet's  strong  appeal  must  have  been  a  mighty 
factor  in  the  maintenance  of  social  justice. 

The  time  had  now  come  for  the  fulfillment  of  the 
promise  of  the  prophet.  Within  a  few  months  after 
the  conquest  of  Babylon,  Cyrus  issued  an  edict 12 
which  granted  to  the  Jewish  exiles  permission  to  re- 
turn to  Jerusalem,  and  in  the  spring  of  537  B.  c.  they 
actually  began  the  journey.  With  this  great  event 
another  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  Hebrews  came  to  a 
close,  and  the  prophecy  of  the  future  was  to  deal  on 
the  social  side  with  new  problems,  where  the  social 
element  was  to  be  more  completely  submerged  in  the 
religious  changes  of  the  times. 

TOPICS   FOR   REPORTS  AND  INVESTIGATION 

1.  Contributions  to  History  Found  in  "  Second 
Isaiah." 

ulsa.  58:10-12.  12  Ezra  1. 


186  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS 

2.  The  Prophet's   Conception  of  Cyrus. 

3.  The  Theology  of  Second  Isaiah. 

4.  The    Prophet's    Conception    of    the    "  Servant    of 
Jehovah." 

5.  Influence  of  the  Exile  on  Prophecy. 

FURTHER  READINGS 

Cornill's  "  The  Prophets  of  Israel/'  pp.  131-144; 
Kirkpatrick's  "  The  Doctrine  of  the  Prophets,"  pp.  353- 
410;  G.  A.  Smith's  "Isaiah,"  XL-LXVI  ("Expositor's 
Bible  ")  ;  Sanders  and  Kent's  "  The  Messages  of  the 
Later  Prophets,"  pp.  149-193;  Chamberlain's  "The 
Hebrew  Prophets,"  pp.  188-214;  Jordan's  "Prophetic 
Ideas  and  Ideals,"  pp.  233-273. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
HAGGAI 

We  now  enter  upon  a  new  period  in  the  history  of 
Jewish  prophecy  —  that  of  the  restoration.  The 
era  is  best  known  through  the  work  of  two  prophets 
—  Haggai  and  Zechariah  —  whose  chief  mission  was 
to  encourage  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple  and  to  re- 
vive the  national  spirit  among  the  Jewish  colonists. 

HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND 

The  conditions  that  justified  divine  interference 
at  this  time  may  be  briefly  stated  as  follows:  Our 
previous  study  related  the  circumstances  which  re- 
sulted in  the  decree  of  Cyrus  granting  permission 
to  the  exiled  Jews  to  return  to  Jerusalem  and  re- 
build the  temple.  This  decree  was  issued  in  536 
B.  c.,  but  we  cannot  be  certain  that  an  immediate  re- 
turn was  begun  by  any  considerable  number  of  these 
exiled  Jews.  Undoubtedly  the  majority  of  this  ex- 
patriated people  preferred  to  remain  in  the  land 
where  adversity  had  cast  them,  for  at  this  time  many 
of  them  had  built  homes,  acquired  property,  and 
some  had  risen  to  positions  of  honor  and  preferment 
in  governmental  affairs.  Finally,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Zerubbabel  and  Joshua,  the  high  priest, 
42,360  men  with  their  families  and  a  large  number 
of  slaves  began  the  journey  back  to  Judea.  After 

many  hardships  and  some  delays  they  reached  their 

187 


188  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

destination.  A  hearty  welcome  awaited  them  from 
the  Jews  who  had  been  living  in  their  native  land,  and 
after  about  one  year  active  plans  were  undertaken 
for  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple. 

In  the  meantime,  important  changes  had  occurred 
in  the  kingdom  of  Persia.  Cyrus  had  been  succeeded 
by  Cambyses,  who  had  added  Egypt  to  the  great 
Asiatic  possessions  of  his  predecessor,  but  on  account 
of  his  tyranny  and  cruelty  his  dependencies  began  to 
rise  in  rebellion,  and  a  usurper,  who  claimed  to  be 
the  brother  of  Cambyses,  seized  the  throne.  The 
king  marched  against  this  pretender,  but  before  they 
met  in  battle  Cambyses  committed  suicide.  Magus 
Gaumata,  the  pretender,  ruled  for  about  one  year  be- 
fore he  was  put  to  death  by  Darius,  who  then 
ascended  the  Persian  throne.  This  occurred  in  521 
B.  c.,  and  the  two  years  that  followed  were  years  of 
revolt  and  rebellion  in  the  Persian  kingdom.  In  the 
midst  of  these  troublous  times,  Darius  made  Zerub- 
babel  viceroy  of  Judea.  Possibly  this  was  a  stroke 
of  diplomacy  on  the  part  of  Darius  to  win  the  sup- 
port of  the  Jews.  Whatever  the  motive,  it  gave  the 
Jews  release  from  the  anxiety  of  external  interfer- 
ence and  opportunity  to  carry  out  the  plans  for 
which  they  had  returned  to  Jerusalem. 

SKETCH  OF  HAGGAI 

We  seek  in  vain  for  any  historic  record  of  the  per- 
sonal incidents  in  the  life  of  this  prophet.  Both  his- 
tory and  tradition  are  silent  concerning  him,  and  we 
are  compelled  to  rely  on  the  allusions  found  in  his 
brief  prophecy  and  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  chapters  of 
Ezra  for  the  name  and  the  place  of  the  man  in  his- 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         189 

tory.  It  is  a  very  general  conjecture  that  Haggai 
began  prophesying  very  late  in  life  because  of  his 
reference  to  the  first  temple,1  which  has  led  some  to 
believe  that  he  had  seen  the  temple  before  the  exile, 
but  this  has  been  questioned  by  some  and  denied  alto- 
gether by  other  biblical  scholars.  G.  A.  Smith  says, 
"  We  are  quite  ignorant  of  his  [Haggai's]  age  at  the 
time  the  word  of  Jehovah  came  to  him  " ;  and  Sanders 
and  Kent  declare,  "  There  is  no  evidence  to  support 
the  late  Jewish  tradition  to  the  effect  that  he  was  an 
old  man  when  he  delivered  his  prophecy."  2  Some 
have  assumed  that  Haggai  was  not  of  the  priestly 
class,  because  of  his  appeal  to  the  priests  for  an  of- 
ficial decision  3  instead  of  making  a  formal  and  direct 
deliverance  on  his  own  authority.  The  period  of 
Haggai's  public  ministry  was  brief,  probably  not  ex- 
tending over  four  months,  from  September  to  Decem- 
ber in  the  year  520  B.  c.  However,  its  importance 
cannot  be  determined  by  its  length,  for  he  appeared 
at  a  very  critical  period  and  he  wrought  mightily 
during  his  public  ministry. 

THE  MESSAGE  OF  HAGGAI 

But  there  were  difficulties  that  now  confronted  the 
Jews  other  than  royal  interference.  They  had  de- 
layed the  real  beginning  of  the  house  of  Jehovah  and 
the  time  had  been  consumed  in  building  "  ceiled 
houses  "  of  their  own.  They  had  become  extrava- 
gant and  selfish  in  their  own  possessions.  "  Ye  have 
sown  much,  and  bring  in  little;  ye  eat,  but  ye  have 
not  enough ;  ye  drink,  but  ye  are  not  filled  with  drink ; 

iHag.  3:3.  3  Hag.  2:11-13. 

2  "  Messages  of  the  Later  Prophets,"  p.  204. 


190  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

ye  clothe  you,  but  there  is  none  warm ;  and  he  that 
earneth  wages  earneth  wages  to  put  it  into  a  bag  with 
holes."  4 

These  conditions  brought  forth  a  new  prophet, 
who  called  himself  by  a  new  prophetic  title,  "  The 
Lord's  Messenger."  He  came  with  a  direct  question 
upon  his  lips,  which  he  addressed  to  the  rulers  and 
the  people :  "  Is  it  a  time  for  you  yourselves  to  dwell 
in  your  ceiled  houses,  while  this  house  lieth  waste?  "  5 
But  the  people  had  a  quick  and  ready  answer  to  the 
prophet's  question,  which  answer  sought  to  direct  at- 
tention to  the  times  rather  than  to  luxury  and  ex- 
travagance. They  reminded  the  prophet  that 
drouth  had  destroyed  their  crops  and  poverty  had 
threatened  them,  therefore  they  were  unable  to  build 
Jehovah's  house.  Haggai  had  an  answer  for  this 
too,  and  his  answer  was  in  the  form  of  a  remedy. 
God  controls  the  rain.  Obey  God  by  restoring  His 
house  and  see  what  He  will  do  in  response  to  obedi- 
ence to  Him.  They  could  not  refuse  to  try  the  plan 
suggested.  In  three  weeks'  time,  encouraged  by  the 
assurance  of  the  prophet,  the  work  of  rebuilding 
began. 

Success,  however,  was  not  to  come  without  trials 
and  discouragement.  As  the  work  progressed,  the 
people  saw  that  the  new  temple  was  to  be  inferior  to 
the  one  erected  by  Solomon.  They  were  ready  to 
give  up  and  return  to  the  ease  and  comforts  of  their 
homes,  but  again  the  prophet  arouses  their  enthusi- 
asm with  a  vivid  description  of  the  glory  that  Jeho- 
vah will  bring  to  it  in  future  days.  That  the  glory 
of  this  house  will  be  greater  than  the  glory  of  its 

*  Hag.  1:6.  &  Hag.  1:4. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS          191 

predecessor  6  is  the  thought  that  stimulates  the  peo- 
ple to  continue  their  work.  At  the  end  of  two 
months  the  prophet  discerns  that  they  again  need  an 
encouraging  word.  He  changes  his  method  now  from 
that  of  the  glowing  word  picture  of  future  triumph 
to  that  of  logic  and  social  policy.  He  uses  the  prin- 
ciple of  ceremonial  uncleanness  to  show  that  the  tem- 
ple has  a  vital  relation  to  the  purity  and  sobriety 
of  the  people.  Later  on  the  same  day,  he  takes  up 
the  argument  anew,  and  arouses  the  hopes  of  the 
builders  to  the  possible  restoration  of  the  Davidic 
line  through  its  present  representative,  Zerubbabel, 
who  was  directing  the  work  of  rebuilding  the  temple. 

With  these  words  of  hopeful  restoration  of  the 
kingdom  of  Judea,  the  voice  of  Haggai  becomes  si- 
lent, but  he  had  fulfilled  his  mission.  For  four  years 
the  work  of  rebuilding  the  temple  went  on  until  its 
final  completion. 

The  larger  meaning  of  this  prophecy  is  admirably 
set  forth  by  G.  Campbell  Morgan  7  in  presenting  the 
permanent  values  of  the  book. 

"  The  permanent  value  of  this  book  is  twofold. 
First,  it  is  a  revelation  of  the  peculiar  perils  of  an 
age  of  adversity ;  and,  secondly,  it  is  a  declaration  of 
the  duty  of  the  man  of  faith  in  such  an  age.  Haggai 
helps  us  to  see  the  perils  of  the  hour  when  everything 
looks  dark;  and  to  understand  the  duty  of  the  man 
of  faith  in  such  an  hour,  and  in  the  presence  of  such 
perils. 

"  There  are  four  perils  indicated  in  the  prophecy, 
and  the  four  addresses  deal  with  them  respectively. 

6  Hag.  2:9. 

7  "  Living  Messages  of  the  Books  of  the  Bible,"  p.  305. 


192  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

First,  the  peril  of  a  false  content.  Secondly,  the 
peril  of  a  false  discontent.  Thirdly,  the  peril  of  a 
false  expectation.  Finally,  the  peril  of  a  false  fear. 

"  First,  a  false  content.  As  these  people  looked  at 
the  conditions  in  the  midst  of  which  they  found  them- 
selves they  said,  *  It  is  not  the  time  .  .  .  for  the 
Lord's  house  to  be  built.' 

"  Secondly,  a  false  discontent.  After  the  work 
had  commenced  they  looked  at  their  building  in  the 
light  of  the  olden  days,  and  they  said,  *  Who  is  left 
among  you  that  saw  this  house  in  its  former  glory? 
And  how  do  ye  see  it  now?  Is  it  not  in  your  eyes  as 
nothing?  ' 

"  Thirdly,  a  false  expectation.  When  the  building 
had  proceeded  further  they  expected  immediate  ma- 
terial results  from  their  moral  reformation. 

"  Finally,  a  false  fear.  They  were  filled  with  fear 
of  the  nations  by  whom  they  were  surrounded." 

But  their  fears  were  groundless,  for  the  temple  of 
the  restoration  was  not  to  be  the  center  of  a  temporal 
kingdom,  and  that  was  not  the  hope  that  Haggai 
held  out  to  his  people.  Instead  of  founding  a  king- 
dom they  were  to  establish  a  church,  and  instead  of 
the  reign  being  temporal,  it  was  destined  to  be  spir- 
itual. The  temporal  glory  of  the  Jewish  nation  had 
passed,  but  a  glory  more  transcendent  and  universal 
was  about  to  take  its  place.  Haggai  and  his  brief 
message  gain  tremendously  in  importance  when  we 
think  of  him  in  relation  to  this  beginning. 

He  was  also  connected  with  a  new  national  name 
of  great  social  significance.  This  prophet  repre- 
sented a  race  that  has  been  known  by  three  names  — 
Hebrews,  Israelites,  and  Jews.  These  names  are  not 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS          193 

synonymous.  Each  is  importantly  connected  with 
biography,  geography,  and  history.  Hebrew  refers 
to  the  descendants  of  Abraham,  Israelite  refers  to  a 
native  of  Israel,  and  Jew  is  connected  with  the  sons 
of  Judah.  In  time  the  latter  term  succeeded  the 
other  two,  and  this  people  became  known  as  Jews. 
Haggai  did  not  encourage  a  new  nationalism.  The 
Israelite  was  no  longer  to  be  thought  of  in  terms  of 
geographical  boundaries.  Hebraism  is  now  to  be 
merged  into  Judaism.  The  Jews  had  lost  a  temporal 
kingdom,  but  they  had  gained  a  spiritual  empire. 

TOPICS  FOR  REPORTS  AND  INVESTIGATION 

1.  The  Importance  of  Haggai's  Message. 

2.  The  Method  and  Result  of  Haggai's  Work. 

3.  The  Importance  of  the  Rebuilding  of  the  Temple. 

4.  A  Study  of  Jewish  Leaders  during  the  Days  of 
Haggai. 

5.  The  Beginning  of  the  Church. 

FURTHER  READINGS 

Marcus  Dods'  "  Haggai,  Zechariah,  Malachi,"  pp.  44- 
58;  G.  C.  Morgan's  "Living  Messages  of  the  Books  of 
the  Bible"  (Job  to  Malachi),  pp.  303-315;  Petrie's 
"Israel's  Prophets,"  pp.  202-213;  Sanders  and  Kent's 
"Messages  of  the  Later  Prophets,"  pp.  197-212;  Kirk- 
patrick's  "  The  Doctrine  of  the  Prophets,"  pp.  413-422; 
also  see  Haggai  in  encyclopedias  and  Bible  dictionaries. 


CHAPTER  XX 
ZECHARIAH 

The  public  ministry  of  Zechariah  was  in  part  con- 
temporaneous with  that  of  Haggai.  His  first  proph- 
ecies were  delivered  soon  after  the  first  promises  had 
been  made  by  Haggai  to  the  discouraged  builders. 
The  date  of  his  second  message  seems  to  have  been 
about  two  months  after  the  close  of  Haggai's  min- 
istry, while  his  public  utterances  are  dated  during 
the  close  of  the  second  year's  work  in  rebuilding  the 
temple.  The  date  and  authorship  of  the  last  five 
chapters  have  been  seriously  questioned  by  biblical 
scholars.  There  is  a  tendency  to  doubt  that  Zecha- 
riah wrote  these  chapters,  and  some  contend  that  they 
are  of  preexilian  origin,  while  others,  with  equal 
force,  contend  that  they  were  written  during  post- 
exilian  times.  Perhaps  the  safest  conclusion  is  that 
of  Marcus  Dods,  who  says  that  these  last  chapters 
were  anonymous.  Dods  agrees  with  Canon  Perowne 
that  as  to  the  date  of  authorship  "  it  is  not  easy  to 
say  which  way  the  weight  of  evidence  preponderates." 

HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND 

The  history  of  the  times,  in  so  far  as  they  have 
any  bearing  on  this  prophet's  message,  has  been 
briefly  outlined  in  the  preceding  study  of  Haggai. 

The  beginning  of  his  prophecy  is  definitely  indicated 

194 


THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  195 

by  these  words :  "  In  the  eighth  month,  in  the  sec- 
ond year  of  Darius."  l  For  all  the  eight  visions  there 
is  assigned  one  date,  i.e.,  "  in  the  twenty-fourth  day 
of  the  eleventh  month,  the  month  Shebat,  in  the  sec- 
ond year  of  Darius,"  2  which  fixes  the  date  during  the 
winter  of  520  and  519  B.  c.  The  prophecies  of  both 
Haggai  and  Zechariah  grew  out  of  the  same  condi- 
tions, and  both  centered  around  the  rebuilding  of  the 
temple,  but  Zechariah's  vision  of  the  angelic  horse- 
man, which  symbolized  existing  peace,  seems  to  be  in 
conflict  with  the  prediction  of  Haggai  that  Jehovah 
would  bring  upon  the  nations  a  destructive  war.  As 
the  exact  date  of  the  realization  of  the  vision  is  un- 
determined, however,  the  conflict  may  be  more  imag- 
inary than  real. 

The  appearance  of  these  two  men  at  the  same  time 
and  with  messages  directed  at  the  same  conditions 
is  significant  because  of  the  way  in  which  they  supple- 
ment each  other.  One  was  a  priest,  the  other  a  lay- 
man. Zechariah's  symbolic  visions  were  in  marked 
contrast  with  the  direct,  matter-of-fact  deliverances 
of  Haggai.  Both  had  a  place  in  the  work  of  en- 
couraging their  countrymen  in  the  task  of  rebuild- 
ing the  temple,  and  again  arousing  the  people  to 
spiritual  consciousness. 

SKETCH  OF  ZECHARIAH 

This  prophet,  like  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel,  but  un- 
like Haggai,  his  contemporary,  was  of  priestly  origin, 
being  a  son  of  Berechiah,  and  grandson  of  Iddo,3 
the  latter  being  one  of  the  most  important  priests 
that  returned  from  exile  with  Zerubbabel  and  Joshua.4 

1  Hag.  1:1.  «  Zech.  1:1,7. 

2  Hag.  1:7.  *  Neh.  12:4. 


196  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

The  fact  that  Zechariah  succeeded  his  grandfather  as 
priest  under  the  high  priest  Jehoiakim,5  has  led  to 
the  inference  that  his  father  died  young.  This  infer- 
ence is  further  supported  by  the  passage  in  Ezra 
where  Zechariah  is  referred  to  as  the  "  son  of  Iddo  " 
instead  of  his  grandson,6  the  name  of  the  father  hav- 
ing been  passed  over  because  he  had  died  before  he 
attained  the  priesthood  through  the  death  of  Iddo, 
his  own  father. 

Zechariah  was  doubtless  born  in  exile,  and  his 
name,  meaning  "  Jehovah's  memorial,"  tells  the  sim- 
ple history  of  the  faith  of  his  pious  family  who  were 
relying  on  the  promises  of  Jehovah  to  fulfil  his  prom- 
ise to  his  exiled  people,  who  in  their  sorrow  were  able 
to  look  beyond  to  the  promised  restoration.  The 
return  of  the  youth  to  Jerusalem  gave  promise  that 
he  was  destined  to  fulfill  in  reality  what  his  name  had 
symbolized  when  he  was  born  in  exile. 

Zechariah  combines  in  his  personality  the  attributes 
of  the  dreamer,  the  reformer,  and  the  seer;  and  his 
threefold  personality  is  so  clearly  reflected  in  his 
writings  as  to  bring  into  doubt  the  integrity  of  the 
authorship  of  his  book.  His  diversity  of  style  re- 
minds us  of  Ezekiel.  He  seems  to  have  been  influ- 
enced in  his  social  conceptions  by  the  prophets  of  the 
eighth  century,  he  approaches  Daniel  in  apocalyptic 
vision,  and  in  his  clear  portraiture  of  the  coming 
Messiah  he  rivals  the  great  Isaiah.  Only  in  one  of 
these  aspects  will  this  prophet  be  studied,  that  is,  as  a 
reformer  who  adapted  his  messages  to  his  times. 

"Neh.  12:16.  6  Ezra  5:1. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         197 

THE  SOCIAL  MESSAGE  OF  ZECHARIAH 

Zechariah  begins  his  prophecy  by  directing  his 
people  to  vital  questions  which  concerned  the  com- 
munity interests.  He  shows  his  knowledge  of  the 
preexilic  prophets  by  frequent  quotation.  He  does 
not  refer  to  these  prophets  by  specific  name,  but  re- 
fers to  them  as  the  "  former  prophets,"  and  his  social 
message  reminds  us  of  the  early  teaching  of  such 
prophets  as  Amos  and  Isaiah. 

His  greatest  opportunity  came  when  a  deputation 
from  Bethel  appeared  before  the  temple  priests,  mak- 
ing inquiry  as  to  whether  or  not  they  should  continue 
to  fast  and  weep  in  the  fifth  month  over  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  city  and  temple,  since  the  restoration  was 
now  under  way.  Zechariah  felt  the  importance  and 
responsibility  of  the  answer  that  he  was  called  upon 
to  give.  He  went  to  the  heart  of  the  matter  by  ask- 
ing about  the  motive  that  prompted  such  observance. 
Was  it  prompted  by  a  desire  to  worship  Jehovah, 
or  was  it  a  selfish  expression  of  their  own  feelings? 
What  was  the  object  of  their  great  concern  and  their 
punctilious  observance  of  these  fasts  and  ceremonies? 
Was  it  prompted  by  reverent  worship,  or  was  it  be- 
cause it  gave  opportunity  for  feasting  and  drinking 
and  revelry  ?  "  The  motive,"  says  the  prophet, 
"  must  determine  the  answer,"  and  from  the  verses 
that  follow 7  we  would  infer  that  their  fasts  and 
ceremonies  were  of  doubtful  merit  as  a  means  of  real 
worship. 

Zechariah  then  recalls  to  these  visiting  laymen  and 

7Zech.  7:8-14. 


198  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

priests  some  of  the  social  wrongs  against  which  the 
earlier  prophets  warned  the  people.  They  had  ad- 
monished the  judges  to  render  just  verdicts.  In 
social  relations,  kindness  and  mercy  one  to  another 
was  laid  down  as  a  guiding  principle.  Oppression  of 
the  poor,  the  widow,  the  stranger,  and  the  orphan  was 
condemned.  The  people  of  old  refused  to  heed  this 
admonition,  and  slaughter,  desolation,  and  exile  was 
the  penalty  required  for  disobedience  to  these  just 
requirements.  "  Would  you  in  this  new  generation, 
on  the  eve  of  renewal  of  your  national  life,  escape  the 
penalty  paid  by  your  fathers?  Then,"  says  Zecha- 
riah,  "  do  the  things  that  I  command."  "  Speak  ye 
every  man  the  truth  with  his  neighbor;  execute  the 
judgment  of  truth  and  peace  in  your  gates ;  and  let 
none  of  you  devise  evil  in  your  hearts  against  his 
neighbor,  and  love  no  false  oath  for  all  these  are  the 
things  that  I  hate,  saith  Jehovah."  8  The  clearness 
with  which  the  prophet  speaks  out  on  questions  of 
social  relations  indicates  the  slow  return  of  com- 
munity life  to  the  people,  and  the  beginning  of  the 
reorganization  of  political  and  social  life. 

No  definite  social  note  is  discernible  in  any  of 
the  eight  visions  of  Zechariah,  with  the  exception  of 
the  sixth.  The  chief  aim  of  these  symbolic  visions 
was  to  encourage  the  people  to  rebuild  the  temple. 
The  first  vision  of  the  angelic  horseman  was  designed 
to  reveal  to  the  people  that  there  was  to  be  imme- 
diate peace  throughout  the  Persian  Empire,  and  op- 
portunity was  theirs  to  rebuild  the  temple  without 
foreign  interference.  The  second  vision,  of  the  four 
horns  and  four  artisans,  symbolically  foretold  that 

sZech.  8:  16,  17. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         199 

Jehovah  was  to  destroy  the  enemies  of  Judah,  and 
restore  her  original  power.  The  third  vision,  of 
the  measuring  line,  indicated  that  the  Jerusalem  of 
the  future  would  not  be  confined  to  the  narrow  walls 
of  old,  but  her  growth  was  to  extend  far  into  the 
country.  The  fourth  vision,  of  the  trial,  was  the 
promise  of  the  restoration  of  the  priesthood.  The 
fifth  vision,  of  the  temple  candlestick  and  its  source 
of  supply,  symbolized  Jehovah,  the  source  of  strength, 
Zerubbabel  and  Joshua,  representing  the  monarch  and 
the  priesthood,  the  temporal  and  spiritual  power  that 
were  to  be  used  by  Jehovah  to  accomplish  His  pur- 
pose. The  seventh  vision,  of  the  woman  within  the 
ephah,  symbolized  the  removal  of  sin  and  temptation 
from  the  people.  The  eighth,  and  last  vision,  of  the 
war-chariots  of  Jehovah,  foretold  the  destruction  of 
Persia,  the  nation  that  then  held  Judah  in  subjection. 
The  sixth  vision,  that  of  the  winged  volume,  taught 
that  "  guilt  is  personal."  The  dimensions  of  the  roll 
(twenty  cubits  in  length  and  ten  cubits  in  breadth) 
was  intended  to  convey  the  impression  that  it  was 
easy  to  be  seen,  and  thus  symbolized  the  sure  detection 
of  the  offender  and  the  magnitude  of  the  specific 
offenses.  Theft  and  perjury  were  to  be  surely  pun- 
ished 9  and  the  land  was  to  be  cleansed  from  evil- 
doers. This  is  the  vision  of  a  reform  in  civic  affairs. 
The  public  conscience  was  to  be  aroused,  the  guilt 
resting  on  the  people  because  of  indifference  was 
to  cease,  and  the  whole  community  was  to  escape 
blame  by  seeking  the  personal  offender,  and  inflicting 
upon  him  the  full  penalty  of  the  law.  The  seventh 
vision  referred  to  above,  which  follows  in  this  fifth 

»Zech.  5:3,  4. 


WO  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

chapter,  is  a  continuation  of  this  same  line  of  rea- 
soning. This  lesson  is  still  of  tremendous  impor- 
tance. To  keep  the  community  life  quickened  to  the 
importance  of  punishing  the  evil-doer  is  a  constant 
problem.  Community  indifference  to  the  wrong- 
doing of  its  members  has  been,  throughout  the  ages, 
a  handicap  to  social  integrity  and  moral  progress. 

One  other  passage  completes  the  social  message 
of  Zechariah  to  his  people.  He  has  quoted  from 
earlier  prophets  to  show  the  social  principles  that 
they  laid  down  to  guide  the  people  in  their  genera- 
tion, and  these  principles  have  been  applied  to  the 
new  conditions  of  Zechariah's  own  time.  He  has  ex- 
plained that  through  them  he  hopes  to  cast  wicked 
oppressors  and  unjust  judges  out  of  the  land.  Peace 
and  protection  is  promised  if  this  can  be  done,  and 
he  teaches  clearly  that  the  only  way  to  accomplish 
this  task  is  to  arouse  the  whole  community  to  a  sense 
of  its  civic  and  social  responsibility.  Then  in  clear 
and  striking  speech  he  pictures  social  conditions  that 
must  follow.  "  There  shall  yet  old  men  and  old 
women  sit  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  every  man 
with  his  staff  in  his  hand  for  very  age.  And  the 
streets  of  the  city  shall  be  full  of  boys  and  girls  play- 
ing in  the  streets  thereof."  10  This  is  a  striking  de- 
scription of  peaceful  prosperity,  and  the  natural 
rewards  of  a  community  jealous  of  its  good  name. 
Such  conditions  can  only  exist  where  the  principles 
of  morality  and  social  justice  are  observed  and  fol- 
lowed. 

lOZech.  8:4,  5. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS          201 


TOPICS  FOR  REPORTS  AND  INVESTIGATION 

1.  Conflicting  Views  Concerning  the  Date  of  Author- 
ship of  Chapters   IX  and  XIV  of  the  Book  of  Zech- 
ariah. 

2.  The   Allegorical   and   Dramatic    Character   of   the 
Book  of  Zechariah. 

3.  A  Comparative  Study  of  the  Messages  of  Haggai 
and  Zechariah. 

4.  The  Indebtedness  of  Zechariah  to  his  Predecessors. 

5.  Oft- repeated  Passages  in  the  Book  and  their  Sig- 
nificance. 

FURTHER  READINGS. 

Marcus  Dods'  "  Haggai,  Zechariah,  Malachi,"  pp.  59- 
126;  Sanders  and  Kent's  "The  Messages  of  the  Later 
Prophets/'  pp.  212-233;  G.  Campbell  Morgan's  "  Living 
Messages  of  the  Books  of  the  Bible  "  (Job  to  Malachi), 
pp.  317-332;  Petrie's  "Israel's  Prophets,"  pp.  214-227; 
Jordan's  "Prophetic  Ideas  and  Ideals,"  pp.  289-297; 
G.  A.  Smith's  "Twelve  Prophets"  ("Expositor's  Bi- 
ble"), Vol.  II,  pp.  255-328;  also  see  article  on  Zechar- 
iah in  Bible  dictionaries  and  encyclopedias. 


CHAPTER  XXI 
MALACHI 

The  prophecy  of  Malachi  closes  another  period  in 
the  history  of  Jewish  prophecy.  After  the  dedica- 
tion of  the  temple  in  516  B.  c.,  a  period  of  almost 
sixty  years  follows  that  is  almost  barren  of  facts 
of  historical  interest  in  the  little  Judean  community. 
But  there  were  occurring  around  this  Jewish  col- 
ony events  which  were  destined  to  change  the  course 
of  the  world's  history  for  all  future  ages.  These 
events  will  be  briefly  related  in  so  far  as  they  have 
a  bearing  on  the  history  and  destiny  of  the  remnant 
of  the  Jews. 

HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND 

Our  attention  is  first  directed  to  the  revolt  of  the 
lonians  from  the  supremacy  of  Persia  in  500  B.  c., 
an  event  which  occurred  just  sixteen  years  after  the 
dedication  of  the  temple.  This  resulted  in  the  inva- 
sion of  Greece  by  the  Persians,  and  the  defeat  of 
their  army  by  Miltiades  at  Marathon,  in  590  B.  c. 
Ten  years  later,  the  battle  of  Thermopylae  was  fought, 
and  during  the  same  year  the  Persian  fleet  was  de- 
stroyed at  Salamis.  The  destruction  of  the  Persian 
army  at  Platsea  in  479  B.  c.  compelled  Xerxes  to  with- 
draw from  Europe.  These  victories  encouraged 

Egypt  to  revolt  from  Persian  rule.     In  460  B.  c., 

202 


THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  203 

Athens  sent  an  expedition  to  Egypt  to  assist  in  the 
revolt  against  Persia.  The  wars  against  Greece  were 
remote  from  Judea,  and  doubtless  had  little  effect 
on  its  affairs,  but  the  revolt  in  Egypt  was  of  more 
concern,  for  the  Persian  forces  must  have  passed 
through  Syria  on  their  march  to  Egypt.  Doubtless 
the  little  Jewish  community  was  compelled  to  supply 
provisions  for  the  army,  and  some  of  the  Jews  may 
have  been  compelled  to  render  military  service.  It 
is  safe  to  assume  that  the  Jews  lived  a  disturbed  and 
uneasy  existence  during  the  course  of  these  events. 
That  the  Jewish  community  was  in  constant  petty 
hostilities  with  its  neighbors  is  confirmed  by  the  only 
two  authentic  incidents  that  we  have  a  record  of  dur- 
ing this  period.  These  incidents  are  related  by 
Ezra.1  In  the  first  place,  they  were  charged  by  their 
enemies  with  being  in  sympathy  with  the  revolt  in 
Egypt,  and  this  matter  was  officially  reported  to  the 
Persian  court.  In  the  second  place,  we  are  told  that 
the  mixed  population  of  Samaria  succeeded  in  con- 
vincing the  officers  of  the  Persian  government  who  re- 
sided at  Jerusalem  that  if  the  Jews  were  permitted  to 
rebuild  the  walls  which  they  had  begun,  they  would 
use  the  security  that  such  a  fortification  would  give 
to  resist  the  payment  of  taxes,  and  the  result  would 
be  a  revolt  from  Persian  dominion.  These  enemies, 
on  the  basis  of  this  charge,  succeeded  in  securing  an 
order  to  have  the  work  stopped,  and  no  time  was  lost 
in  enforcing  this  decree.  It  was  in  the  midst  of  such 
conditions  as  are  here  related,  and  probably  during 
the  revolt  of  Egypt  (462-456  B.  c.),  that  the  proph- 
ecy of  Malachi  was  delivered. 

lEzra  4:6-23. 


204  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

SKETCH  OF  MALACHI 

Nothing  is  known  of  the  personal  history  of  this 
prophet.  In  fact,  the  gravest  doubts  have  been  en- 
tertained by  profound  Bible  scholars  as  to  whether 
there  ever  was  such  an  individual.  The  name  does 
not  occur  elsewhere  in  the  Old  Testament.  The  word 
occurs  twice  in  this  book,  and  in  the  first  instance  2 
is  translated  as  a  proper  name,  and  in  the  second 
instance  "  my  messenger."  3  This  fact  has  given 
considerable  weight  to  the  opinions  of  those  who  con- 
tend that  the  word  is  merely  an  official  title  and  not 
a  proper  name.  Some  who  maintain  this  theory  claim 
that  the  book  was  written  by  Ezra,  and  the  title 
"  Malachi  "  was  used  to  indicate  his  authority  as  a 
prophet,  but  the  differences  in  style  and  diction  in 
the  books  of  Ezra  and  Malachi  have  caused  some  to 
seriously  doubt  the  possibility  of  this  theory.  While 
it  is  impossible  ever  to  settle  such  a  question  as  this, 
it  is  probably  a  simpler  and  more  natural  conclusion 
to  assume,  since  it  was  usual  for  prophets  to  give 
their  own  names  in  beginning  their  prophecies,  that 
Malachi  was  the  real  name  of  the  prophet,  and  not  a 
mere  official  title  of  some  unknown  prophet. 

THE  SOCIAL  MESSAGE  OF  MALACHI 

The  prophecy  of  Malachi  came  after  a  period  of 
prophetic  silence  of  more  than  sixty  years,  Zecha- 
riah,  his  immediate  predecessor,  having  delivered  his 
message,  as  we  have  seen  in  our  previous  study,  in 
520  B.  c.  Great  changes  had  come  in  the  social 
ideals  of  the  people  during  this  period.  We  have 

2  Mai.  1:1.  3  Mai.  3:1. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         205 

seen  that  Haggai  and  Zechariah  had  encouraged  the 
people  to  rebuild  the  temple,  and  hope  had  been  held 
out  to  them  of  a  renewal  of  political  influence  and 
the  return  of  peaceful  prosperity.  The  immediate 
fulfillment  of  these  prophecies  was  expected  by  the 
Jews,  and  when  they  were  confronted  with  opposi- 
tion and  open  hostility  from  their  neighboring  peo- 
ple, and  interference  from  the  Persian  government, 
we  find,  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  race, 
that  expression  is  given  to  scepticism.  "  It  is  vain," 
said  these  despondent  people,  "  to  serve  God ;  and 
what  profit  is  it  that  we  have  kept  his  charge,  and 
that  we  have  walked  mournfully  before  Jehovah  of 
Hosts  ? " 4  Religion  had  now  become  merely  a 
mourning  apparel,  worn  for  the  sake  of  selfish  gain, 
rather  than  for  the  joy  and  spiritual  strength  it 
could  create.  The  consequences  were  just  what  we 
would  expect.  The  tide  of  hope  which  was  stimu- 
lated by  the  teaching  of  Haggai  and  Zechariah  rap- 
idly ebbed  away,  and  with  successive  crop  failures 
and  opposition  from  envious  neighbors  this  little 
band  of  Jews  yielded  not  only  to  disappointment  and 
despair,  but  for  the  first  time  manifested  a  total  in- 
difference and  a  bitter  contempt  for  their  duty  to 
God.  The  social  sins  into  which  they  fell  were  but 
the  natural  consequences  of  their  despair  and  mental 
dejection. 

We  are  told  by  the  prophet  that  "  every  man  dealt 
treacherously  with  his  brother." 5  The  old  ideals 
had  broken  down,  and  with  the  loss  of  faith  in  Je-; 
hovah  came  the  loss  of  faith  in  each  other,  a  conse- 
quence naturally  to  be  looked  for.  Adult ry,  perjury, 

*  Mai.  3:14.  5  Mai.  2:10. 


206  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

dishonesty,  and  oppression  of  the  dependent  became 
the  common  practices  among  the  people.6  Against 
these  practices  the  prophet  raises  his  voice,  and  pleads 
with  his  people  to  return  unto  the  Lord,  reminding 
them  of  the  promise  of  Jehovah  that  if  they  will 
return  unto  Him  that  He  will  return  unto  them.7 
He  follows  this  promise  with  an  analysis  of  the  causes 
of  their  poverty  and  disappointment.  He  tells  them 
that  they  have  robbed  God  by  refusing  to  provide 
tithes  and  offerings.  Social  wrongs  and  misfortune 
will  continue  until  the  right  relation  has  been  estab- 
lished with  God. 

The  social  evil  that  received  greatest  attention  by 
this  great  moral  reformer  was  that  of  the  intermar- 
riage of  the  Jews  with  alien  women.  Foreign  mar- 
riages had  become  common  at  the  time  of  Malachi, 
and  they  had  continued  for  a  sufficient  time  to  en- 
able this  great  social  reformer  to  discern  the  evil 
consequences  resulting  from  them.  It  had  become 
the  practice  of  the  Jews  to  put  away  their  Israelitish 
wives  with  impunity  and  to  take  unto  themselves 
wives  of  foreign  nationalities.  The  old  Semitic  law 
of  divorce  was  very  lax,  and  the  dissolution  of  mar- 
riage ties  became  a  very  common  and  informal  cus- 
tom. 

The  marriage  relation  could  be  severed  merely  by 
a  husband  leading  his  wife  to  the  door  of  his  tent 
and  telling  her  to  be  gone.  We  are  told  by  Pro- 
fessor Kent,  "  The  Deuteronomic  law  sought  to  re- 
lieve this  injustice  by  providing  that  the  husband 
should  place  in  the  hand  of  his  wife,  as  she  departed, 
a  document  stating  the  grounds  on  which  he  had 

e  Mai.  3:5.  7  Mai.  3:7. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         207 

divorced  her."  However,  Malachi  found  that  in 
spite  of  this  restriction  divorce  had  greatly  increased, 
and  both  the  spirit  and  the  letter  of  the  latter  law 
was  being  openly  violated.  His  ideals  and  efforts 
to  prevent  this  practice  place  his  name  among  those 
of  the  greatest  reformers  of  the  world.  His  ideals 
of  the  matrimonial  relation,  and  his  teaching  on  the 
subject  of  divorce,  are  second  only  in  importance  to 
that  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

In  his  attack  on  this  problem  of  alien  marriages, 
the  prophet  appeals  to  the  sentiment  of  the  people 
by  reminding  them  that  they  are  putting  away  the 
"  wife  of  thy  youth,"  and  he  then  proceeds  to  de- 
nounce such  an  act  as  cruel  and  unjust.  He  presses 
his  argument  a  step  further,  and  asserts  that  mar- 
riage is  a  solemn  covenant  between  man  and  wife 
which  has  divine  approval,  and  that  to  disregard  it 
or  to  treat  the  relation  lightly  means  to  bring  on 
the  displeasure  of  Jehovah.8  In  his  further  argu- 
ment, we  have  presented  what  we  should  call  to-day 
an  argument  based  on  "  eugenics."  Purity  of  blood 
was  a  matter  of  great  importance  at  that  time.  Each 
family  should  seek  above  all  things  "  a  godly  seed." 
Children  are  the  "  seed  of  God,"  and  the  nation  can 
be  made  permanent  only  through  them,  and  the  re- 
ligion of  Jehovah  must  look  to  the  descendants  of 
Abraham  for  purity  and  vitality.  So  much  for  the 
necessity  for  observing  the  marriage  vows. 

On  the  other  hand,  divorce  is  an  evil  to  be  shunned. 
Jehovah  hates  divorce.10  The  prophet  shows  his 
contempt  for  the  foreign  women  that  enter  into  mar- 
riage with  his  people  by  speaking  of  them  as  "  the 

8  Mai.  2:  14,  15.  »  Mai.  2: 15.  ioMal.  2:16. 


208  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

daughters  of  a  strange  god."  He  saw  in  such  mar- 
riages an  inevitable  deterioration  in  moral  and  reli- 
gious conviction  which  would  place  his  people  beyond 
the  power  of  social  reform.  He  concludes  his  whole 
argument  on  the  subject  of  divorce  with  these  strik- 
ing words :  "  Therefore,  take  heed  to  your  spirit, 
and  let  none  deal  treacherously  against  the  wife  of 
his  youth."  " 

Thus  did  this  prophet  of  social  reform  lift  his 
voice  under  divine  guidance  in  behalf  of  his  falter- 
ing people.  His  appearance  at  this  time  was  all  the 
more  significant  because  he  came  when  there  was  a 
dearth  of  great  moral  leadership,  and  at  a  time  when 
the  need  was  great  for  resistance  to  the  rapid  moral 
decadence  of  the  people.  He  may  not  have  lived  to 
see  the  solution  of  the  social  problems  that  engaged 
his  attention,  but  he  certainly  prepared  the  way  for 
reform.  Toward  the  close  of  the  fifth  century  B.  c., 
Ezra  and  Nehemiah  were  destined  to  come  from  the 
East,  and,  taking  the  work  up  where  Malachi  left 
off,  they  directed  their  energies  to  a  reformation  in 
the  moral  and  spiritual  life  of  the  people  and  the 
restoration  of  material  prosperity.  The  influence  of 
Malachi  must  have  been  an  important  aid  in  the  ac- 
complishment of  this  twofold  purpose. 

TOPICS  FOR  REPORTS  AND  INVESTIGATION 

1.  The  Date  of  the  Authorship  of  Malachi. 

2.  A  Comparative  Study  of  the  Teaching  Concerning 
Divorce  by  the  Prophets. 

3.  The  Influence  of  the  Priests  on  the  Social  Life  of 
the  People  as  Revealed  by  a  Study  of  Malachi. 

11  Mai.  2: 15. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         209 

4.  Malachi's  Proposed  Remedies  for  Social  Sin. 

5.  The    Permanence    of    Malachi's     Contribution    to 
Social  Reform. 

FURTHERV  READINGS 

Jordan's  "  Prophetic  Ideas  and  Ideals,"  Chap.  XXV, 
pp.  301-310;  Kirkpatrick's  "  The  Doctrine  of  the 
Prophets,"  pp.  504-511;  Petrie's  "Israel's  Prophets," 
Chap.  XVI,  pp.  228-243;  Kent's  "  Makers  and  Teachers 
of  Judaism,"  ("Historical  Bible"),  pp.  60-72;  Marcus 
Dods'  "  Haggai,  Zechariah,  Malachi,"  pp.  128-153;  G. 
A.  Smith's  "Twelve  Prophets"  ("Expositor's  Bible"), 
Vol.  II,  pp.  331-372;  G.  Campbell  Morgan's  "Living 
Messages  of  the  Books  of  the  Bible"  (Job  to  Malachi), 
pp.  335-349;  articles  on  Malachi  in  encyclopedias  and 
Bible  dictionaries. 


CHAPTER  XXII 
NEHEMIAH'S  SOCIAL  REFORMS 

The  relation  of  Nehemiah  to  his  times  and  the  im- 
portance of  his  social  reforms  justifies  the  inclusion 
of  a  brief  study  of  his  social  message  at  this  point 
in  these  studies  of  the  prophets.  It  also  seems  ad- 
visable to  make  incidental  mention  of  the  mission  of 
Ezra,  the  forerunner  of  Nehemiah,  who  accomplished 
some  of  the  reforms  previously  undertaken  by  Mala- 
chi. 

HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND 

The  reader  will  recall  that  the  decree  of  Cyrus 
which  granted  permission  to  the  Jews  to  return  was 
issued  in  536  B.  c.,  and  beginning  with  Haggai  our 
subsequent  studies  have  been  concerned  with  the 
Jewish  community  at  Jerusalem.  In  the  meantime, 
prosperity  had  come  to  the  Jews  that  had  remained 
in  Babylon.  At  this  time  the  seat  of  war  was  far 
removed,  and  they  were  permitted  to  abide  in  peace 
and  prosperity.  They  used  this  opportunity  to  pro- 
mote their  spiritual  and  intellectual  life.  "  Baby- 
lonian Jews,"  says  Miss  Latimer  1  in  writing  of  this 
period,  "  having  no  temple,  supplied  the  place  of  the 
services  by  listening  to  the  exhortations  of  the  proph- 
ets, by  strictly  keeping  the  Sabbath  and  the  holy 

i "  Judea  from  Cyrus  to  Titus,"  p.  54. 
210 


THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  211 

feasts,  by  attention  to  the  rules  of  diet,  by  avoidance 
of  Gentile  marriages ;  keeping  themselves,  by  every 
means  in  their  power,  a  separate  people."  This  is  an 
interesting  picture,  and  pathetic  in  prospect,  for  in 
just  a  few  years  (333  B.  c.)  Alexander  of  Macedon 
was  destined  to  invade  the  Persian  Empire,  and  his 
conquering  armies  were  to  scatter  the  Jewish  exiles 
into  widely  separated  cities  and  localities.  Many  of 
them  were  transported  to  the  city  of  Alexander,  where 
they  became  important  factors  in  the  development  of 
this  great  city.  We  are  told  by  M.  Renan  that  the 
Jews  were  both  prosperous  and  influential  in  Alexan- 
dria. "  The  regularity  of  their  lives,"  says  he,  "  and 
the  strictness  of  their  morals  procured  them  situ- 
ations as  confidential  servants.  They  made  excellent 
clerks  and  secretaries,  and  were  found  by  the  govern- 
ment especially  useful  in  the  work  of  administration." 
To  return  to  the  prosperous  period  of  the  Jews 
in  Babylon  during  the  reign  of  Artaxerxes,  it  is  easy 
to  contrast  their  prosperity,  morality,  and  spiritual- 
ity with  that  of  their  kinsmen  at  Jerusalem.  Reform 
was  needed  badly  by  the  little  colony  far  away,  and 
no  leadership  there  was  available  for  the  task. 
Three  things,  according  to  Miss  Latimer,  would  be 
essential  to  a  reformer's  success.  "  He  must  come 
from  without,  not  from  within  the  Judean  colony ;  he 
must  be  clothed  with  authority  higher  than  the  rul- 
ing classes  at  Jerusalem ;  he  must  be  at  once  a  zealot 
and  a  teacher."  Ezra  fulfilled  these  conditions. 
When  he  heard  of  the  conditions  that  existed  at 
Jerusalem,  his  love  for  his  people  caused  him  to  seek 
permission  to  go,  and  in  the  seventh  year  of  the  reign 
of  Artaxerxes  his  desire  was  made  possible  by  a  decree 


THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

of  the  king.  Ezra  was  accompanied  by  1700  men, 
and  an  unknown  number  of  women  and  children. 
When  he  arrived  in  Jerusalem,  he  found  conditions 
even  worse  than  he  had  expected,  but  he  immediately 
set  about  his  task  of  reform  with  zeal  and  cour- 
age. 

His  greatest  social  problem  was  that  of  mixed 
marriages,  and  he  determined  to  eradicate  this  evil 
against  which  Malachi  had  contended.  After  re- 
ceiving the  promise  of  support  from  certain  influen- 
tial leaders  of  the  community,  he  called  a  mass  meet- 
ing, and  upbraided  the  people  for  this  serious  breach 
of  Jehovah's  covenant,  and,  in  spite  of  some  oppo- 
sition, succeeded  in  having  an  inquiry  made  concern- 
ing the  prevalence  of  mixed  marriages,  and  those 
guilty  of  this  offence  were  compelled  to  separate 
from  heathen  wives.2 

At  this  interesting  point  in  the  reform  work  of 
Ezra,  the  curtain  falls  upon  this  little  colony  of 
Jews,  and  it  is  destined  not  to  rise  again  for  a  period 
of  thirteen  years.  We  do  not  know  what  interrupted 
the  work  of  Ezra,  but  subsequent  events  justify  the 
conclusion  that  grave  disasters  came  upon  the  Jew- 
ish community.  The  interruption  may  have  been  due 
to  a  rebellion  in  Egypt,  or  a  change  in  the  attitude 
of  Artaxerxes  toward  the  Jews,  or  some  other  cause. 
In  the  midst  of  this  deplorable  condition,  Hanani  re- 
turned from  Jerusalem  to  Babylon  and  informed  his 
brother,  Nehemiah,  of  conditions  there.3  Nehemiah's 
life  and  public  service  peculiarly  qualified  him  to  lend 
assistance  to  his  people,  and  he  determined  to  follow 
in  the  steps  of  Ezra  and  go  to  the  aid  of  his  people. 

zlb.  p.  53.  3Neh.  1:2  ff. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         213 

SKETCH  OF  NEHEMIAH 

Nehemiah  was  the  son  of  Hachaliah,  and  although 
a  Jewish  exile  in  Babylon,  he  was  cupbearer  to  King 
Artaxerxes,  by  whom  he  was  regarded  with  high  fa- 
vor. All  the  authentic  information  that  we  have  con- 
cerning this  distinguished  Jewish  patriot  is  contained 
in  the  book  bearing  his  name.  His  official  position 
brought  him  into  intimate  touch  with  the  king,  for 
it  was  a  part  of  his  duty  as  cupbearer  to  admit  vis- 
itors to  the  sovereign's  room.  This  was  doubtless  a 
factor  in  gaining  for  him  permission  to  return  to 
Jerusalem,  and  he  began  his  journey  in  the  twentieth 
year  of  the  reign  of  Artaxerxes.  He  carried  letters 
of  introduction  from  the  king  to  the  governors,  and 
a  bodyguard  was  delegated  to  accompany  him.4  He 
arrived  in  Jerusalem  in  due  time,  and  we  have  a  rec- 
ord of  his  reforms  and  administration  down  to  432 
B.  c.  Of  his  life  and  character  the  Schaff-Herzog 
"  Encyclopedia  of  Religious  Knowledge "  says : 
"  He  was  one  of  those  ardent  Jewish  patriots  whom 
the  attractions  of  a  foreign  court  did  not  make 
ashamed  of  their  nationality,  or  indifferent  to  the 
welfare  of  Jerusalem.  He  combined  the  practical 
skill  of  the  architect  with  the  vigilance  and  fortitude 
of  the  general." 

SOCIAL  REFORMS  OF  NEHEMIAH 

Immediately  upon  his  arrival  in  Jerusalem,  Nehe- 
miah undertook  to  fortify  the  city  by  repairing  the 
walls  and  gates.5  Before  he  had  time  to  complete 
this  undertaking,  he  was  called  upon  to  deal  with  a 

*Neh.  2:9.  «  Neh.  2:11  ff. 


THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

social  evil  that,  unless  it  could  be  averted,  was  des- 
tined to  retard  greatly  his  work.  The  poorer  Jews 
round  about  the  city,  as  a  result  of  poverty  and  dis- 
tress resulting  from  crop  failures  and  other  disasters, 
had  been  compelled  to  mortgage  their  lands  to  the 
rich  in  order  to  provide  food  for  their  families  and 
to  pay  the  government  tax.  The  Persian  "  pekdh  " 
was  very  exacting  in  demanding  prompt  payment  of 
the  royal  tribute  or  tax.  No  mercy  was  shown  if 
these  poor  people  were  not  able  to  raise  their  mort- 
gages when  they  became  due.  So  exacting  were  these 
rich  creditors  that  in  some  instances  the  poor  man 
was  forced  to  surrender  his  children  to  the  creditor, 
to  become  slaves  in  the  latter's  household.  We  are 
told  that  Nehemiah  was  very  angry  when  he  found 
out  the  true  state  of  affairs.  He  called  a  meeting 
of  the  leading  men,  both  lay  and  clerical,  and  deliv- 
ered to  them  a  stinging  address.  "  Ye  exact  usury," 
says  he,  "  every  man  of  his  brother.  We  [Jews  of 
Babylon]  after  our  ability  have  redeemed  our  breth- 
ren, the  Jews,  that  were  sold  unto  the  nations ;  and 
would  ye  even  sell  your  brethren,  and  should  they  be 
sold  unto  us  ?  "  He  paused  to  wait  for  an  answer, 
but  they  were  so  conscience-stricken  that  they  could 
not  find  words  with  which  to  reply.6  Continuing  his 
speech,  he  said : 

"  The  thing  that  ye  do  is  not  good.  Ought  ye  not 
to  walk  in  the  fear  of  our  God,  because  of  the  re- 
proach of  the  nations,  our  enemies?  And  I  like- 
wise, my  brethren,  and  my  servants,  do  lend  them 
money  and  grain.  I  pray  you  let  us  leave  off  this 
usury.  Restore,  I  pray  you,  to  them,  even  this  day, 

6Neh.  5:8. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         215 

their  fields,  their  vineyards,  their  olive-yards,  and 
their  houses,  also  the  hundredth  part  of  the  money, 
and  of  the  grain,  the  new  wine,  and  the  oil,  that  ye 
exact  of  them."  7 

The  appeal  was  too  strong  to  be  resisted.  With 
one  voice  they  exclaimed :  "  We  will  do  even  as  thou 
sayeth."  But  remembering  their  broken  promise  to 
Ezra,  Nehemiah  decided  to  bind  them  with  an  oath; 
so  he  called  out  the  priests  to  administer  the  oath  to 
them  that  they  would  do  even  as  they  had  promised. 

Nehemiah  had  won  a  signal  victory  over  these 
rich  Jews,  and  he  convinced  all  the  people  of  the  sin- 
cerity of  his  purpose  by  immediately  manifesting  gen- 
erosity toward  the  poor.  He  gave  liberally  of  his 
own  means  to  aid  them,  and  he  refused  to  make  any 
of  the  exactions  that  had  been  practiced  by  the  Per- 
sian "  pekah  "  who  had  preceded  him.8  We  are  not 
surprised  that  his  influence  and  popularity  grew. 
This  enabled  him  to  arouse  the  men  of  Jerusalem  to 
put  forth  such  a  united  effort  as  to  enable  them  to 
complete  the  rebuilding  of  the  walls  and  gates  of  the 
city  in  the  surprisingly  short  period  of  fifty-two 
days. 

With  this  work  completed,  Nehemiah  undertook 
another  reform  that  was  fundamental.  He  was  de- 
termined to  compel  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath, 
which  was  being  sadly  neglected  by  the  Jews.  The 
commercial  pursuits  of  ordinary  days  were  carried 
on  openly  without  any  regard  to  sacred  ordinance 
or  divine  decree.  He  excluded  all  traders  on  the 
Sabbath,  and  closed  the  gates  against  them.  When 
these  traders  attempted  to  lodge  just  outside  the 

i  Neh.  5 : 9-11.  8  Neh.  5 : 15-18. 


£16  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

city-gates,  Nehemiah  ordered  them  to  depart,  and  he 
tells  us  that  after  he  had  threatened  them  that  "  from 
that  time  forth  they  came  no  more  on  the  Sabbath."  9 
Thus  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  was  effectively 
restored  in  a  sane  and  practical  manner. 

With  these  reforms  accomplished,  Nehemiah  set 
about  the  correction  of  the  evil  that  had  baffled  Mala- 
chi,  and  the  social  problem  that  had  met  with  only 
temporary  solution  at  the  hands  of  Ezra,  his  great 
forerunner  and  earlier  contemporary  —  i.  e.,  the 
prevention  of  mixed  marriages.  Nehemiah  was  fa- 
miliar with  the  fact  that  the  Jews  of  the  dispersion 
had  placed  great  emphasis  on  the  preservation  of  the 
purity  of  their  blood,  and  the  avoidance  of  mixed 
marriages  had  been  carefully  observed,  but,  as  we 
have  seen,  this  question  had  not  received  such  em- 
phasis at  Jerusalem,  and  this  regulation  was  openly 
violated,  not  only  by  the  laymen,  but  by  the  priests 
as  well.  There  could  be  no  question  about  Nehe- 
miah's  position  on  the  subject  of  mixed  marriages. 

His  attention  was  directed  to  this  question  one  day 
when  he  met  in  the  street  some  children  who  were  un- 
able to  speak  the  Hebrew  tongue,  but  spoke  the  dia- 
lect of  some  heathen  nation.  On  inquiry  he  found 
that  their  Jewish  fathers  had  married  women  of  Ash- 
dod,  Ammon,  and  Moab.10  Nehemiah  decided  to 
make  an  example  of  the  fathers  of  these  children, 
and  not  only  publicly  reprimanded  them,  but  even 
used  violence  "  by  plucking  out  their  hair."  Then 
he  laid  down  the  law  that  in  the  future  no  alliances 
were  to  be  made  by  Jews  with  those  who  were  not  true 
children  of  Israel.  This  was  the  crowning  reform 

»  Neh.  13: 21.  10  Neh.  13: 23. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         217 

of  Nehemiah's  life.  The  success  of  his  social  re- 
forms is  one  of  the  outstanding  facts  in  Jewish  his- 
tory. 

The  reforms  of  Nehemiah  were  of  great  signif- 
icance, and  came  at  a  critical  period  in  Jewish  his- 
tory. He  had  reestablished  a  vital  relationship  be- 
tween the  Jews  of  Babylon  and  Palestine,  and  made 
the  principles  of  Sabbath  observance  and  the  preser- 
vation of  the  purity  of  blood  essential  bonds  of  union 
for  both.  The  importance  of  these  social  principles 
is  easy  to  realize  when  we  consider  that  Alexander 
the  Great  was  soon  to  conquer  and  denationalize  the 
East  by  amalgamating  the  conquered  peoples  with 
the  Greeks  of  the  West.  Only  one  people,  so  we  are 
told  by  the  historian,  was  able  to  resist  this  amalga- 
mating process,  and  that  was  the  Jews.  They  were 
scattered  abroad,  as  we  have  seen,  but  they  remained 
a  distinct  people.  This  was  made  possible  because 
of  the  ideals  and  public  ministry  of  Ezra  and  Nehe- 
miah. Thus  was  the  Jewish  religion  saved  from 
Hellenism,  the  most  subtle  force  and  the  most  fasci- 
nating product  of  the  ancient  world. 

TOPICS  FOR   REPORTS  AND  INVESTIGATION 

1.  A  Study  of  the  Fifty-sixth  Chapter  of  Isaiah  in 
Relation  to  the  Social  Message  and  Teaching  of  Nehe- 
miah. 

2.  Comparison  and  Contrast  of  the  Life  and  Public 
Ministry  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah. 

3.  The  Conflict  between  Hellenism  and  Judaism. 

4.  Nehemiah  as  a  Public  Administrator. 

5.  A  Study  of  the  Book  of  Ruth  in  Relation  to  the 
Social  Teaching  of  Nehemiah  and  Ezra. 


218  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

FURTHER  READINGS 

Kent's  "  Makers  and  Teachers  of  Judaism  "  ("  His- 
torical Bible  Series"),  pp.  117-126;  Latimer's  "  Judea 
from  Cyrus  to  Titus/'  Chapters  III  and  IV,  pp.  45-77; 
Cornill's  "Prophets  of  Israel/'  pp.  155—163;  Kirkpat- 
rick's  "The  Doctrine  of  the  Prophets/'  pp.  494-500; 
articles  on  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  in  Bible  dictionaries  and 
encyclopedias. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
JOEL 

The  period  into  which  we  now  enter  has  been 
characterized  as  the  "  age  of  legalism  "  because  of 
the  reforms  of  Nehemiah  and  Ezra,  and  the  accept- 
ance of  the  Levitical  Law.  The  age  of  the  prophet 
Joel  may  also  be  regarded  as  the  introduction  to  the 
Grecian  period  of  prophecy,  the  period  that  marked 
the  close  of  the  work  of  these  great  moral  teachers 
and  religious  leaders. 

HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND 

The  date  of  the  public  ministry  of  Joel  must  be 
established  before  we  can  relate  his  prophecy  to  the 
times,  and  this  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  problems 
of  biblical  criticism.  Bible  scholars  have  agreed 
that  the  Book  of  Joel  is  either  of  very  early  or  very 
late  date.  The  authorities  place  it  either  before  800 
B.  c.  or  after  500  B.  c.  G.  A.  Smith  1  supports  the 
latter  view  with  the  following  argument :  "  Unlike 
every  other  prophet,  except  Haggai,  Malachi,  and 
Zechariah,2  Joel  mentions  neither  Assyria,  which 
emerged  upon  the  prophetic  horizon  about  760,  nor 
the  Babylonian  Empire,  which  had  fallen  by  537. 
The  presumption  is  that  he  wrote  before  760  or  after 
537." 

i  "  Twelve  Prophets,"  Vol.  II,  p.  376.  2  Joel  9: 14. 

219 


220  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

The  argument  for  the  earlier  date  may  be  sum- 
marized as  follows :  The  placing  of  the  book  among 
the  earliest  of  the  twelve  minor  prophets;  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  text,  and  the  absence  of  detail  which 
characterized  the  later  prophets;  the  great  impor- 
tance attached  to  the  ravages  of  the  locusts,  which 
indicated  a  purely  agricultural  state  of  society;  and 
the  absence  of  all  mention  of  the  law  and  its  specific 
violation. 

The  later  date  is  supported  by  a  growing  number 
of  critics  on  the  ground  that  the  Book  of  Joel  con- 
tains the  first  Old  Testament  reference  to  the 
Greeks ; 3  that  the  dispersion  had  already  taken 
place,4  and  the  temple  and  the  city  walls  5  had  al- 
ready been  rebuilt,  which  would  indicate  that  this 
prophet  lived  after  the  days  of  Nehemiah.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  enter  minutely  into  the  argument  that 
this  problem  has  brought  forth.  It  is  sufficient  to 
say  that  the  weight  of  evidence  tends  to  support  the 
later  date.  Cornill  reaches  this  conclusion,  but  with 
more  certainty  than  it  seems  the  facts  would  warrant. 
"  Few  results  of  Old  Testament  research,"  says  he, 
"  are  as  surely  established  as  that  the  Book  of  Joel 
dates  from  the  century  between  Ezra  and  Alexander 
the  Great."  6 

If  this  view  be  correct,  Joel  prophesied  at  the  close 
of  an  age  of  material  prosperity.  Probably  a  half 
century  intervened  between  the  reforms  of  Nehemiah 
and  the  adoption  of  the  Law  by  the  people.  The 
rich  and  poor  had  become  united.  Many  Jews, 
doubtless  attracted  by  the  social  reforms  and  the 

3  Joel  3:6.  «  Joel  3:9. 

*  Joel  3:2.  6  "  Prophets  of  Israel,"  p.  164. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS 

supremacy  of  the  Law,  returned  to  the  land  of  Judah. 
The  Jews  were  doubtless  inspired  with  hope  for  na- 
tional independence  because  of  the  weakness  of  the 
central  government  under  Artaxerxes  II  (4?04-358 
B.  c.).  The  only  interference  at  this  time  seems  to 
have  come  from  their  neighbors  of  Phoenicia,  Philis- 
tia,  and  Edom,7  whose  petty  enmities  were  a  source 
of  constant  annoyance. 

SKETCH  OF  JOEL 

All  that  we  know  of  Joel  is  contained  in  a  single 
sentence.  "  The  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  Joel,  the 
son  of  Pethuel."  Jo-el  is  the  abbreviation  of 
Jehovah-Elohim,  and  means,  "  Jehovah  is  God." 
Therefore,  the  name  of  the  prophet  contains  in  itself 
a  veritable  confession  of  faith.  The  name  is  not  a 
rare  one,  as  it  occurs  no  less  than  fourteen  times  in 
the  Bible.  The  first  appearance  of  the  name  is  in 
Samuel,8  where  we  are  told  that  this  was  the  name  of 
one  of  Samuel's  sons,  who  was  a  judge.  The  last 
mention  of  the  name  preceding  that  of  the  prophet 
was  in  Nehemiah.9  Joel  the  prophet  is  mentioned 
only  twice  in  the  Bible;  once  in  the  introduction  to 
his  own  prophecy,  and  once  in  the  Book  of  Acts,10 
where  he  is  quoted. 

According  to  Jewish  tradition  he  was  born  at 
Bethhoron,  a  historic  mountain  pass  of  Benjamin, 
where  Israel  had  often  withstood  the  onslaughts  of 
her  enemies  in  the  early  days  of  her  history.  He 
probably  lived  in  Judah,  and  spent  much  of  his  life 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Jerusalem.  His  ready  fa- 

Tjoel  3:4-19.  »  Neh.  11:9. 

«I  Sam.  8:2.  "Acts  2:16. 


£28  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

miliarity  with  the  temple,  and  his  many  detailed  ref- 
erences to  the  duties  of  the  priests,  have  led  some 
to  conclude  that  he  belonged  to  the  priestly  class,  but 
this  conclusion  is  doubtful. 

THE  MESSAGE  OF  JOEL 

The  book  consists  of  two  distinct  parts.  In  the 
first  part  n  the  prophet  addresses  the  people.  He 
predicts  a  twofold  calamity  that  is  about  to  come 
upon  Judah.  (1)  A  scourge  of  locusts  will  come  to 
destroy  the  vine  and  the  growing1  grain,  and  leave 
the  land  a  barren  waste;  (2)  a  disastrous  drouth 
will  blight  the  fruits  of  the  orchard,  and  cause  the 
growing  grain  of  the  fields  to  wither  and  die.  In  the 
second  part  of  the  book  12  Jehovah  speaks,  His  words 
conveying  a  message  of  promise  and  hope.  The  ca- 
lamity described  by  the  prophet  is  to  be  removed  in 
the  near  future,  and  the  promise  of  blessings  in  the 
more  remote  future  is  held  out  to  the  people. 

The  teaching  of  the  book  clearly  presents  two 
great  themes  —  the  great  day  of  judgment  and  the 
promise  of  redemption.  The  plague  of  locusts  and 
the  drouth  which  had  come  upon  the  country  were 
made  to  symbolize  and  characterize  the  day  of  Je- 
hovah, whose  coming  would  bring  both  judgment  and 
redemption  to  the  world.  He  regarded  the  day  as 
being  very  near.  "  Alas  for  the  day !  for  the  day  of 
the  Lord  is  at  hand,  and  as  a  destruction  from  the 
Almighty  shall  it  come.  .  .  .  Blow  ye  the  trumpet 
in  Zion,  and  sound  an  alarm  in  my  holy  mountain ; 
let  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  tremble;  for  the 
day  of  the  Lord  cometh,  for  it  is  nigh  at  hand."  13 

11  Joel  1:2  to  2:7.  is  Joel  1:15;  2: 1. 

12  Joel  2:18  to  3:21. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS 

But  there  is  still  a  chance  to  avert  this  catastrophe 
through  the  repentance  of  God's  people.  "  Rend 
your  hearts  and  not  your  garments,  and  turn  unto 
the  Lord  your  God ;  for  He  is  gracious  and  merciful, 
slow  to  anger,  and  of  great  kindness,  and  repenteth 
Him  of  the  evil."  14  Therefore,  says  he,  assemble 
the  people,  from  the  youngest  to  the  oldest,  and  have 
the  priests  to  call  them  to  repentance,  for  if  this  can 
be  accomplished,  blessings  will  come  instead  of  judg- 
ment, and  prosperity  will  return  to  take  the  place  of 
privation.  This  is,  in  brief,  the  teaching  of  the  book. 

The  Book  of  Joel  is  remarkable  for  its  expressions 
of  faith  and  hope  in  the  ultimate  triumphs  of  Juda- 
ism, and  the  ultimate  conquest  over  the  heathen  na- 
tions. With  remarkable  power  he  contrasts  Judah 
with  the  other  nations.  The  offences  of  the  nations 
against  Judah  are  summarized,  and  God's  judgment 
is  declared  to  be  certain  to  fall  upon  the  enemies  of 
Judah,  while  blessings  and  glory  are  promised  to  the 
people  of  God. 

Joel  has  been  charged  with  ignoring  social  and 
ethical  elements  in  his  prophecy.  Some  critics  feel 
that  he  subordinated  the  moral  instruction  to  a  zeal 
for  a  message  filled  with  hopeful  triumph  of  Judah 
over  her  heathen  enemies.  This  conclusion  is  hardly 
well  founded.  He  does  deal  in  more  general  terms 
than  most  of  the  other  ethical  leaders  of  Israel. 
There  is  but  one  reference  to  any  social  sin  of  Judah, 
and  that  was  in  ridicule  of  the  drunkards  because 
their  supply  of  new  wine  had  been  cut  off  through  the 
blight  of  the  grapes.15  All  the  social  sins  of  Judah 
were  comprehended  by  the  prophet  in  the  word  "  re- 

"  Joel  2: 13.  is  Joel  1:5. 


224  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

pentance."  That  repentance  was  necessary,  implied 
social  wrongs  and  evil  deeds.  "  It  is  true  that  re- 
pentance is  not  defined,"  says  Kirkpatrick,  "  and 
that  particular  sins  are  not  singled  out  for  condemna- 
tion, but  we  cannot  tell  how  far  these  brief  utterances 
may  have  been  supplemented  by  oral  teaching."  16 
The  invitation  "  to  turn  unto  the  Lord  your  God  " 
implies  that  the  people  had  wandered  away  from  God. 
The  locust  plague  and  the  drouth  with  which  the 
people  had  been  afflicted,  or  were  about  to  be  afflicted, 
is  clearly  presented  by  the  prophet  as  a  divine  call 
for  the  people  to  turn  unto  Jehovah,  but  this  is  as 
near  as  Joel  gets  to  a  definite  social  message.  If  he 
had  any  specific  sins  in  mind,  he  does  not  reveal  them 
in  his  brief  poetic  message.  This  fact  alone,  how- 
ever, would  not  justify  us  in  drawing  the  conclusion 
that  he  was  wanting  in  ethical  interest. 

TOPICS  FOR  REPORTS  AND  INVESTIGATION 

1.  The  Date  of  Authorship  of  Joel's  Prophecy. 

2.  The  Priestly  Element  in  Joel's  Prophecy. 

3.  The  Tendency  of  Later  Judaism,  as  Revealed  in 
Joel's  Prophecy. 

4.  A  Study  of  Familiar  Passages  in  Joel,  and  Their 
Relation  to  his  Message. 

5.  The  Political  Situation  in  the  Time  of  Joel. 

FURTHER  READINGS 

Kirkpatrick's  "  The  Doctrine  of  the  Prophets,"  pp. 
47-79;  Cornill's  "The  Prophets  of  Israel,"  pp.  164- 
169;  G.  A.  Smith's  "Twelve  Prophets,"  ("Expositor's 
Bible"),  Chap.  XVII,  pp.  375-445;  Petrie's  "Israel's 
Prophets";  Sanders  and  Kent's  "The  Later  Messages 

16  "  The  Doctrine  of  the  Prophets,"  p.  78. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         225 

of  the  Prophets/'  pp.  289-302;  G.  Campbell  Morgan's 
"  Living  Messages  of  the  Books  of  the  Bible  "  (Job  to 
Malachi),  pp.  181-195;  articles  on  Joel  in  Bible  encyclo- 
pedias and  Bible  dictionaries. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
JONAH 

As  Joel  was  peculiarly  the  prophet  of  Judaism,  so 
was  the  prophecy  of  Jonah  the  world's  classic  against 
narrowness  and  smallness.  The  popular  misconcep- 
tion of  this  book  is  one  of  the  misfortunes  of  the 
world.  Its  mission  is  so  lofty,  and  its  importance  is 
so  great,  as  to  cause  men  of  understanding  to  exalt 
it  to  a  place  of  supreme  eminence.  "  I  have  read 
this  Book  of  Jonah  at  least  a  hundred  times,"  says 
Cornill,1  "  and  I  will  publicly  avow,  for  I  am  not 
ashamed  of  my  weakness,  that  I  cannot  even  now 
take  up  this  marvelous  book,  nay,  nor  even  speak  of 
it,  without  the  tears  rising  to  my  eyes,  and  my  heart 
beating  higher.  This  apparently  trivial  book  is  one 
of  the  grandest  that  was  ever  written,  and  I  should 
like  to  say  to  every  one  who  approaches  it,  '  Take 
off  thy  shoes,  for  the  place  whereon  thou  standest  is 
holy  ground.' ' 

HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND 

The  books  of  prophecy  are  not  arranged  in  the 
Bible  in  chronological  order,  as  we  have  seen  from 
our  previous  studies.  Jonah  has  been  placed  ninth 
in  the  order  of  arrangement  of  the  sixteen  prophets 
from  Isaiah  to  Malachi,  but  many  of  the  earlier  Bible 
authorities  placed  Jonah  as  the  first  of  the  writing 

i "  Prophets  of  Israel."  p.  170. 
226 


THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS  227 

prophets.  We  have  seen  that  this  order  was  prob- 
ably not  correct,  and  the  more  recent  tendency  has 
been  to  place  this  prophecy  at  about  the  close  of  the 
prophetic  period. 

The  earlier  date  of  authorship  grew  out  of  the 
supposition  that  the  prophet  Jonah,  who  lived  dur- 
ing the  reign  of  Jereboam  II,  about  780  B.  c.,  was 
the  author  of  the  Book  of  Jonah.  There  is  nothing 
to  justify  this  conclusion.  The  book  is  narrative  in 
form,  which  is  peculiar  to  Jewish  prophecy,  and 
Jonah,  the  son  of  Amittai,  is  made  the  hero  of  the 
book  rather  than  the  author  of  it.  There  is  no  rea- 
son for  assuming  that  the  author  was  an  eyewitness 
of  the  adventures  of  this  Jonah,  or  even  a  contem- 
porary with  him.  The  tense  of  the  verb  in  Jonah 
3:3  would  indicate  that  Nineveh  had  ceased  to  be 
a  great  city.  The  fact  that  this  city  fell  in  608  B.  c. 
would  indicate  that  the  book  was  written  after  this 
date.  In  addition  to  this  fact,  "  Its  many  Aramaic 
words,"  says  Professor  Kent,2  "  its  quotations  from 
the  Book  of  Joel,  its  universalities,  and  its  missionary 
spirit  all  indicate  that  it  comes  either  from  the  clos- 
ing years  of  the  Persian  or  from  the  earlier  part  of 
the  Greek  period."  This  would  bring  the  book  prob- 
ably between  350  B.  c.  and  200  B.  c.,  the  date  that 
may  be  said  to  close  the  period  of  Jewish  prophecy. 

The  description  of  this  period  has  been  well  char- 
acterized by  Sanders  and  Kent.3  "  The  century  fol- 
lowing 350  B.  c.  was  filled  with  shameful  acts  of 
cruelty  and  wrong,  and  the  Jews  were  the  victims  of 

2 "Makers    and    Teachers    of    Judaism"    ("The    Historical 
Bible"),  p.  174. 
3  "  Messages  of  the  Later  Prophets,"  p.  344. 


THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

the  most  shocking  indignities.  There  was  little  in 
the  character  of  the  people  with  whom  they  came  in 
painful  contact  to  arouse  their  affection  or  to  kindle 
their  missionary  enthusiasm.  It  was  a  crisis  in  which 
the  very  life  of  Judaism  was  in  jeopardy.  It  is  not 
strange  that  they  forgot  their  high  calling  to  be 
Jehovah's  witnesses  to  the  world  and  that  curses  were 
oftener  on  their  lips  than  blessings." 

It  was  during  this  period  that  Judaism  had  its 
greatest  conflict,  that  with  Hellenism.  In  this  con- 
flict, the  Greeks  became  acquainted  with  monothe- 
istic religion,  and  the  Jews  in  turn  acquired  their  first 
knowledge  of  the  culture  of  the  Greeks.  In  the  proc- 
ess many  Greeks  became  proselytes  to  Judaism,  and 
some  of  the  Jews  forsook  their  religion  in  their  zeal 
for  Hellenistic  culture.  The  Jews  of  Alexander  and 
elsewhere  began  to  speak  Greek,  and  the  Hebrew 
scriptures  were  translated  into  Greek  (the  Septua- 
gint).  Thus  the  Jewish  people  came  to  face  two  of 
the  greatest  crises  of  their  history,  and  these  pointed 
in  opposite  directions.  In  the  first  place,  the  hard- 
ships that  they  had  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the 
Oriental  people  had  caused  them  to  assume  a  narrow 
Jewism  that  was  foreign  to  the  spirit  and  essence  of 
their  religion;  and  secondly,  their  fascination  for 
Hellenistic  culture  caused  them  to  ignore  and  neg- 
lect, and  even  to  forsake,  the  religion  that  had  made 
them  a  separate  people.  This  experience  has  no 
parallel  in  history.  With  our  present  perspective  of 
history  we  can  see  that  both  Hellenism  and  Judaism 
were  needed.  The  world  needed  Judaism  to  counter- 
act Hellenistic  immorality,  and  Hellenism  was  needed 
to  protest  against  the  narrowness  of  Judaism.  It 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS         229 

was  in  the  midst  of  these  conditions  that  the  message 
of  the  Book  of  Jonah  was  sent  forth. 

THE  MESSAGE  OF  JONAH 

Some  time  during  this  struggle,  the  Book  of  Jonah 
appeared.  The  author  saw  the  dangers  that  threat- 
ened his  people.  We  cannot  determine  with  certainty 
whether  the  book  is  merely  an  allegory,  or  a  story 
based  on  a  real  adventure.  But  whatever  the  source 
of  the  story  or  the  nature  of  the  literary  composi- 
tion, the  purpose  is  the  same,  and  the  Jewish  people 
were  well  prepared  to  understand  the  larger  meaning 
of  the  narrative.  They  had  been  taught  for  half  a 
thousand  years  that  Israel  was  Jehovah's  servant, 
whose  mission  was  to  save  the  world  through  social 
laws  and  righteous  judgments.  They  had  been 
taught  that  as  a  punishment  for  refusing  to  become 
God's  willing  messenger  they  had  been  swallowed  up 
by  Nebuchadnezzar.  The  experiences  through  which 
the  Jewish  people  had  passed  made  it  easy  for  them 
to  interpret  the  symbolism  in  the  narrative  of  Jonah. 
Jonah  is  made  to  symbolize  Israel,  the  messenger  of 
Jehovah,  who  had  refused  to  carry  monotheism  to 
the  wicked  nations.  She  had  sought  to  confine  her 
rich  heritage  within  the  small  dominions  of  her  own 
territory,  and  when  pressed  by  moral  leaders  to  fulfill 
her  mission,  she  had  fled  in  the  opposite  direction  and 
attempted  to  find  relief  for  her  conscience  in  the 
fascinations  of  Hellenistic  culture.  Now,  to  punish 
this  waywardness,  God  provided  a  great  fish,  Baby- 
lon, to  swallow  up  the  messenger  and  to  keep  her  con- 
fined until  she  had  become  penitent  and  willing  to  ful- 
fill the  will  of  Jehovah.  The  punishment  accom- 


230  THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

plished  its  purpose  and  the  messenger  was  delivered. 
Obediently  she  now  went  upon  her  mission,  but  still 
resented  the  giving  of  Jehovah's  mercy  to  the  Gentiles 
and  longed  for  the  time  when  they  would  be  punished 
for  the  wrong  they  had  inflicted  on  her.  She  still 
found  more  satisfaction  in  the  memories  of  her  brief 
nationality  than  in  the  imperishable  religion  that 
Jehovah  had  intrusted  to  her  to  give  to  the  world. 
But  the  little  gourd  of  nationality  was  only  of  com- 
paratively brief  duration,  and  the  messenger  was  com- 
pelled out  of  dire  necessity  to  face  the  larger  world 
problems. 

The  social  element  in  the  Book  of  Jonah  is  almost 
negligible.  The  unknown  author  does  not  deem 
it  necessary  to  specify  the  particular  sins  against 
which  he  was  to  protest  at  Nineveh,  but  the  serious- 
ness of  the  offences  of  the  Ninevites  is  easy  to  discern 
in  the  urgency  of  his  message,  and  the  shortness  of 
the  time  that  was  left  to  them  in  which  to  repent.4 

While  the  book  is  wanting  in  respect  to  the  social 
offences  which  were  common  to  the  people  of  those 
times,  it  is  not  wanting  in  the  larger  note  that  we 
are  just  beginning  to  hear  even  in  this  twentieth  cen- 
tury. We  here  have  a  prophet  thinking  and  utter- 
ing world  thoughts.  For  the  past  decade  we  have 
been  talking  world  peace,  and  to-day,  in  the  midst  of 
a  world  war,  many  patriotic  Americans  are  advocat- 
ing a  league  of  nations  to  enforce  peace.  This  is  the 
point  toward  which  the  author  of  the  Book  of  Jonah 
was  endeavoring  to  lead  his  people.  As  Professor 
Jordan  has  told  us,  in  the  message  of  Jonah  we  see 
"  the  protest  against  littleness.  The  stinging  satire 

*  Jon.  3:4. 


OF  THE  JEWISH  PROPHETS          231 

against  smallness  is  the  main  thing ;  it  is  through  this 
that  God  rebukes  our  narrow  bigotry  and  petulant 
pride." 

The  great  positive  truths  of  the  book  are  nowhere 
better  summarized  than  in  Sanders  and  Kent's  dis- 
cussion of  the  subject:5  "The  book  [of  Jonah] 
bristles  with  great  prophetic  truths.  Nowhere  is  the 
infinite  love  of  God  for  the  ignorant,  the  sinful,  and 
even  for  those  who  defy  Him,  more  beautifully  and 
simply  presented  in  the  Old  Testament.  The  fact 
that  the  fulfilment  of  every  prophecy,  however  de- 
tailed and  emphatic,  depends  upon  certain  conditions 
determinate  upon  human  action  is  forcibly  taught. 
The  book  also  emphasizes  the  universality  of  Jeho- 
vah's rule,  and  indicates  clearly  the  true  place  and 
role  of  the  Jewish  race  in  his  creation.  Above  all, 
it  sets  before  the  Jews  their  supreme  opportunity  and 
duty  as  Jehovah's  enlightened  messenger  to  proclaim 
his  truth  to  mankind." 

There  is  one  other  very  interesting  point  concern- 
ing this  little  Book  of  Jonah.  It  ends  with  a  ques- 
tion. It  is  God's  question  propounded  to  Jonah, 
which  he  did  not  answer :  "  And  should  not  I  spare 
Nineveh,  that  great  city,  wherein  are  more  than  six 
score  thousand  persons  that  cannot  discern  between 
their  right  hand  and  their  left  hand;  and  also  much 
cattle  ?  "  It  is  the  great  question  of  mercy  that  God 
holds  out  to  man ;  it  is  the  great  unanswered  question 
of  the  world.  With  this  question  the  prophetic  lit- 
erature of  Israel  comes  to  a  close.  This  lone,  but 
brilliant  star  which  shone  out  of  the  darkness  of  the 
age  of  Hellenism  now  disappears  from  view,  and  no 

5  Ib.,  p.  347. 


THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS 

other  star  of  prophecy  was  destined  to  appear  until 
John  the  Baptist  came  to  herald  the  appearance  of 
the  Star  of  Bethlehem.  Thus  was  the  last  prophet 
before  the  coming  of  the  Savior  of  men  to  speak  the 
message  that  approached  nearest  to  the  teaching  of 
Christ  himself. 

TOPICS  FOR  REPORTS  AND  INVESTIGATION 

1.  Contrast  Between  the  Messages  of  Joel  and  Jonah. 

2.  The  Date  of  Authorship  of  Jonah, 

3.  The  Unique  Characteristics  of  this  Book. 

4.  Comparison  and  Contrast  of  Nahum  and  Jonah. 

5.  The  Teaching  of  the  Book  Concerning  God. 

FURTHER  READINGS 

G.  A.  Smith's  "  Twelve  Minor  Prophets  "  ("  Exposi- 
tor's Bible  "),  Vol:  II,  pp.  493-541 ;  Sanders  and  Kent's 
"The  Messages  of  the  Later  Prophets/'  pp.  339-354; 
Cornill's  "Prophets  of  Israel,"  pp.  170-174;  Jordan's 
"Prophetic  Ideals  and  Ideas/'  pp.  313-323;  G.  Camp- 
bell Morgan's  "  Living  Messages  of  the  Books  of  the 
Bible  "  (Job  to  Malachi),  pp.  227-241 ;  Petrie's  "  Israel's 
Prophets,"  pp.  9-23;  articles  on  Jonah  in  Bible  diction- 
aries and  encyclopedias. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Abijah,  the  prophet,  39. 

Ahab,  king,  45;  his  pol- 
icies, 47;  opposed  by 
Elijah,  47. 

Ahaz,  king,  85;  relation  to 
Isaiah,  95. 

Amos,  of  Tekoa,  60-63; 
social  ideals,  64 ff. 

Amaziah,  the  priest  of 
Bethel,  70;  his  protest 
against  the  preaching  of 
Amos,  70. 

Baal,  prophets  of,  47; 
worship,  5 1 ;  conflict  of 
Elisha  with,  55. 

Cities,  development  of,  60; 
corruption  in,  68. 

Compte,  his  religious  ap- 
proach to  sociology,  3. 

Cornill,  quoted,  14,  120, 
166,  178,  226. 

Cyrus,  king,  his  decree  of 
restoration,  210. 

Documents,  early  Hebrew, 

14. 
Deutero-Isaiah        (Second 

Isaiah)  177;  message  of 


deliverance,  181;  ideals 
of  social  righteousness, 
183. 

Edom,  conflict  with  Israel, 
172;  Obadiah,  attack  of, 
173. 

Elijah,  the  prophet,  his 
early  life,  45;  social 
teaching,  48. 

Elisha,  the  prophet,  his 
call,  53;  his  influence, 
55;  his  social  teaching, 
56. 

Elohim,  its  significance, 
18. 

Ezekael,  the  prophet,  jhis 
early  life,  163;  social 
teaching,  165. 

Ezra,  the  forerunner  of 
Nehemiah,  210;  his  so- 
cial problem,  212. 

Gad,  the  prophet,  39. 

Gehazi,  servant  of  Elisha, 
57. 

Giddmgs,  F.  H.,  on  socio- 
logical      method,        10; 
types     of     like-minded- 
ness,  72. 
235 


INDEX 


Gideon,  judge  of  Manas- 
seh,  22. 

Habbakkuk,  the  prophet, 
his  early  life,  133;  his 
message,  134. 

Haggai,  the  prophet,  his 
social  message,  189. 

Hananiah,  the  prophet,  op- 
posed foreign  policy  of 
Jeremiah,  142,  156. 

Hellenism,  conflict  with 
Judaism,  228. 

Hezekiah,  king,  political 
events  of  his  reign,  86; 
his  reforms,  97. 

History,  relation  to  so- 
ciology, 4. 

Hosea,  Ben  Beeri,  74;  his 
early  life,  76;  his  social 
message,  80. 

Isaiah,  of  Jerusalem,  84; 
early  life  of,  86;  social 
teaching,  88 ;  political 
reforms,  94;  statesman- 
ship, 95. 

Jereboam  II,  age  of,  61. 

Jeremiah,  of  Anathath, 
138;  early  life  of,  141; 
his  social  ethics,  143; 
his  political  policies, 
153;  his  policies  re- 
jected, 159. 

Joel,    date    of    prophecy, 


219;  significance  of 
name,  221;  his  message, 
222. 

Jonah,  the  book  of,  227; 
the  message  of,  229. 

Josiah,  king,  his  reforma- 
tion, 118;  his  death,  132. 

Judges,  the  book  of,  21; 
nature  of  office,  22 ;  rela- 
tion to  prophet,  23. 

Justice,  social,  8;  teaching 
of  Amos  concerning,  72. 


Latimer,      Miss,      quoted, 

210,  211. 
Law,    Licenian,   91;    Book 

of,  118;  Semetic,  168. 


Malachi,  social  message, 
204. 

Manasseh,  king,  his  evil 
policies,  115. 

Method,  social  science  of, 
10;  Spencer's,  3. 

Micah  the  Morasthite, 
early  life,  105;  his  so- 
cial teaching,  108. 

Morgan,  G.  Campbell, 
quoted,  191. 

Moses,  first  Jewish  proph- 
et, 13;  early  life,  15; 
experiences  in  Midian, 
16;  his  social  policies, 
18. 


INDEX 


237 


Nahum  the  Elkoshite,  125; 
his  indictment  of  Nine- 
veh, 128. 

Nathan,  successor  to  Sam- 
uel, 36;  relation  to 
David,  37. 

Nehemiah,  early  life  in 
Babylon,  213;  his  so- 
cial reforms,  213. 

Obadiah,      indictment      of 

Edom,   173. 
Othniel,   judge    in    Judah, 

22. 

Prophecy,  evolution  of, 
33—36;  ascendency  of, 
45 ;  reaction  against, 
113. 

Rehebites,  the  origin  of  the 
sect,  146;  their  avoid- 
ance of  agrarian  culture, 
50. 

Rousseau,  Discourse  on 
Inequality,  147. 

Samaria,  fall  of,  82. 

Samuel,  his  judgeship,  23; 
as  prophet,  24;  chooses 
Saul  king,  25-29;  as  so- 
cial reformer,  29. 

Sanders  and  Kent,  quoted, 
81,  227,  231. 

Saul,  chosen  king,  25. 


Second  Isaiah  (See  Deu- 
tero-Isaiah). 

Shemaiah,  prevents  inva- 
sion of  Israel,  42. 

Small,  A.  W.,  divisions  of 
human  welfare,  9. 

Smith,  G.  A.,  quoted,  65, 
81,  89,  92,  122,  189, 
219. 

Spencer,  Herbert,  contri- 
bution to  religious  soci- 
ology, 3. 

Sociology,  nature  and  con- 
tent, 1 ;  biblical,  2 ;  re- 
ligious, 3. 

Uzziah,  king,  his  reign,  85. 

Wallace,  Alfred  Russel,  on 
moral  progress,  foot- 
note, 136. 

Yahveh,  the  significance, 
18;  relation  to  Israel, 
146. 

Zephaniah,  early  life,  119; 
social  teaching,  120. 

Zechariah,  early  life,  196; 
social  ideals,  197;  mean- 
ing of  his  "  Visions," 
198. 

Zarepath,  city  of,  51; 
widow  of,  51. 

Zedekiah,  king,  his  foreign 
policies,  143,  157. 


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